Life’s Work: An Interview with Julia Gillard

Julia Gillard was Australia’s prime minister from 2010 to 2013 and is the only woman to have held the position. Drawn into politics as a student activist, she persevered through early election defeats to win a Labor Party seat and then served as deputy prime minister under Kevin Rudd before eventually challenging him for the top job. In 2012 she gained global fame for a speech decrying misogyny. A year later Rudd won a leadership contest against her, and she left government. She now focuses on advocacy for causes including education, gender equity, and mental health because, as she recently told the Simmons Leadership Conference, “If you are really passionate about something and raise your voice, you can make a difference.”