On 9 October 2012, in the Federal House of Representatives, Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard delivered what has been called her ‘misogyny speech’. Ten years later, a book edited by her has been published. A proportion of the publisher’s earnings and authors’ royalties will go to the Global Institute for Women’s Leadership at King’s College, London, and its sister institute at the Australian National University in Canberra.

The misogyny speech is reprinted in full with articles by Julia Gillard, Kathy Lette, Mary Beard and others. In addition there are comments by Quentin Bryce, Wayne Swan, Anne Summers, Cate Blanchett and many more. Kathy Lette’s piece is hilarious.

Julia Gillard’s contribution includes this notable observation that stayed with me for days after I’d finished reading the book: we cannot change the past … but the past can inspire us to campaign and change the future.

Not Now, Not Ever is divided into three sections: personal reflections on the speech; misogyny past and present; and the future. For me, the most interesting part of the book is the reflections by those who were in tears when they heard the speech or when their attention was drawn to it and read it.

Misogyny – the ingrained prejudice against woman – will be with us in Australia for many more years. As more women reach leadership positions and dyed-in-the-wool curmudgeons die off, I believe change will happen. Realistically, however, progress will be distressingly slow.

Reviewed by Clive Hodges

ABOUT JULIA GILLARD

She currently serves as the Chair of Beyond Blue, one of Australia’s leading mental health awareness bodies; is the inaugural Chair of the Global Institute for Women’s Leadership , which through research, practice and advocacy, is addressing women’s under-representation in leadership. In 2021 she was appointed as the Chair of Wellcome, a global charitable foundation which supports science to solve urgent health challenges. She was recently appointed to lead the Royal Commission into Early Childhood Education and Care in South Australia. Her second book Women and Leadership: Real Lives, Real Lessons is co-authored by Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, and was released in 2020.