Australia's first female prime minister keeps her job, for now
Some analysts believe that sexism is at least partly to blame for the difficulties Australia's first female prime minister, Julia Gillard, has had to battle while in office.
Australia's prime minister, Julia Gillard, listens to a question during a news conference at Parliament House in Canberra Feb. 27. Gillard won a leadership showdown with party rival Kevin Rudd with strong backing from her party Monday, but now faces a mammoth task to rebuild support for her divided and unpopular minority government.
Daniel Munoz/REUTERS
Sydney, Australia
Today Australia’s first female prime minister, Julia Gillard, won a leadership challenge by her predecessor, Kevin Rudd. The fight for the country's most senior political position has been one of Australia's most dramatic leadership battles Australia has known. Some analysts believe that sexism is at least partly to blame for Ms. Gillard's struggle.
“Julia Gillard has not done a bad job with a very difficult set of cards,” says Norman Abjorensen, a political scientist at the Australian National University (ANU). “But the way she’s been treated raises the question of whether Australians are prepared to accept a female head of government, and from what we’ve seen, we’ve got a long way to go.”
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