Hey Julia? It turns out that they were listening…
For all the crap that the media gave you about Labor not properly communicating it’s message to the public – there was one group of people who head you – loud and clear.
Young women and girls.
Young women and girls were paying attention when you made your now famous, misogyny speech in parliament.
They were listening, they thought ‘yes, that’s happened to me to’. You gave them the power to stand up and say “this is unfair, I’m being treated badly”.
And here’s the proof…..
The country’s largest Youth Survey, conducted annually by Mission Australia, ranks issues of most importance to teenagers between the ages of 15 and 19.
The new 2013 results have just been revealed and for the first time ever, young Australian women ranked gender equity and discrimination as the top issue facing the country. The top issue. Above job security, cost of living, body image. The TOP issue for the very first time was gender equity and discrimination.
We think the fact young women feel confident enough to say that they fear gender discrimination, is a significant development in the way equality is discussed today. Finally an issue that has been hidden in shadows and ignored as ‘already dealt with’ is being out back on the table. And girls are feeling brave enough to say it.
Julia, we have you to thank for that.
These results show that young women have been following the debate and making up their own minds. They are telling us, that they won’t put up with the discrimination that has become normalised in our parliament and in the media. We have to change. They are telling us that they heard your message.
So, Julia. Sit back. Relax. You deserve it.
We salute you and so do the next generation of women.
Please share this post to show your support for the voice Julia Gillard gave to young women and girls.
Top Comments
Sandra .... Spot on!
Why is it we trot Julia out every few weeks? Where K Rudd is like the preverbal pile of dog poo? They both need to be forgotten as the failures they both were! And disappear into obscurity quietly.
The woman was useless as a PM, she was part of a useless party, that has managed to drive Australia very nearly bankrupt our great nation.
Picked on because she was a woman pffft, it could be said that she verbally abused Mr Abbot and showed signs of being a misandrist..(someone who hates men). She certainly hated K. Rudd enough to knife him in the back.
She would have to be the worse kind of role model for young women to look up to!
Wow - an article which was meant to show how concerned young women are about gender discrimination has turned into nasty politics and name calling in these comments.
What I'm concerned to see is so many people dis-valuing their concerns - if they had said body image was the number one concern would people jump and and down saying "they're not old enough to know that" or "that doesn't exist - they've been brainwashed"?
The fact of the matter is they are concerned, they must have reason to be concerned and that means we need to do something as a society to reduce gender discrimination and allay the fears of our young women - regardless of where you lie on the political spectrum.
THAT should be the message we get out of this article.
Anon1, there were two sections and two different questions asked. 1.) What impacts them personally and 2.) What they 'think' impacts the nation.
When asked about how they are personally affected by discrimination something like 60% said not at all. Another 20% said the impact was neglible. Another few percent were marginally impacted.
Overall, it was only a tiny minority who thought they were personally impacted by discrimination. I think discrimination came in at about a distant 12 of things they personally worried about.