5 reasons Julie Bishop is a feminist hero - Women's Agenda

5 reasons Julie Bishop is a feminist hero

It is always confusing to hear someone reject the title of feminist. At the heart of feminism is the belief that men and women are equal. Of all the things one could believe, that is among the least offensive things I can think of.

Julie Bishop yesterday explained that she doesn’t find the need to self-describe as a feminist. This struck me as a bizarre statement by someone who is so obvious perpetuating the values of modern feminism.

Across her career, Bishop has espoused the values of feminism and supported women. In her more recent roles she has shown Liberal women that leadership is attainable and worth pursuing.

Proclaiming feminist tendencies may be something of a vexed issue for Liberal women. Not even Senator Michaelia Cash, the Minister Assisting the Prime Minister for Women, identifies as a feminist.

While Bishop did say that her gender had little to do with her performance and how she acts, we are living in a time of heightened gender awareness, partly due to the government she’s a part of.

There is broad social awareness that the capacity for leadership is not gendered and that women should be holding more positions of influence.

Whether she likes it or not here are 5 reasons Julie Bishop will always be a feminist hero.

  1. When she was school captain: Bishop’s feminist tendencies started early, after being brought up in rural South Australia she attended St Peter’s Girls’ School finishing school as the school captain. She showed that ambition and goals were part of her prospective womanhood.
  2. When she was the managing partner of a law firm: Before politics, Bishop was a lawyer. She specialised in commercial litigation and rose to become the managing partner of Clayton Utz in Perth. This is no small feat. Even today with women being the majority of law graduates very few make it to partnership level, especially in Western Australia where she was based.
  3. When she was first elected to parliament: The 1998 election was a watershed moment for women in political leadership. Elected alongside Bishop were Nicola Roxon and Julia Gillard. Bishop was elected to the blue-ribbon Division of Curtin for the Party, the first time a woman held that seat. This gave her a position of authority within the party.
  4. When she became a cabinet minister: Bishop was first appointed to the outer-ministry in 2003 as the Minister for Ageing, and rose to be Minister for Education in the dying months of the Howard Government. Even in opposition she was a trailblazer, undertaking the delicate role of Shadow Treasurer – another female first. She is now the first female Foreign Minister.
  5. When she advocates for women and girls: When appointed Foreign Minister she was under pressure to axe the position of Ambassador for Women and Girls and cut funding through foreign aid. She understands the impact that women have on communities in developing nations and fought against that. Bishop is also on the front foot advocating for more women into cabinet and the ministry.

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