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Mental Health as a Global Health Issue
In this uplifting and informative talk, JULIA GILLARD balances her personal experience, vast policy expertise, and research-backed strategies for employers and leaders to make a positive impact. Gillard has been candid about her own struggles with anxiety and stress while serving as Australia’s first female Prime Minister and brings much-needed compassion to conversations surrounding mental health. Gillard serves as chair of both beyondblue, Australia's leading mental health awareness organization, and Wellcome, a global charitable foundation which supports science to solve urgent health challenges such as the effects of mental health issues. Gillard offers a vital perspective on the global, economic, and personal impacts of mental health crises – and what we as individuals and as a society can do to improve care for everyone.
Facing Geopolitical Crisis with A Spirit of Opportunity
As the world navigates the continuing health and economic crises, there is an opportunity for governments, the private sector, philanthropy, and communities to seize the moment to create societies that are fairer, greener, and positively globally engaged.
In these illuminating and engaging remarks, 27th Prime Minister of Australia JULIA GILLARD dives into how to seize the myriad opportunities of this moment. As a trailblazing world leader, chair of the Global Partnership for Education as well as Wellcome Trust – a foundation that works to improve health through scientific research, Gillard approaches geopolitical crisis from multiple perspectives, providing insights and takeaways tailored to each organization. Ultimately, her remarks serve as a galvanizing call to action.
Women’s Leadership: Challenge, Adversity, and Triumph
Australia's first woman Prime Minister JULIA GILLARD now serves as inaugural Chair of the Global Institute for Women’s Leadership – which is addressing women’s under-representation in leadership through research, practice, and advocacy. Gillard’s role with the institute is in powerful alignment with her work as Prime Minister and beyond, advocating to break down the barriers to women become leaders while challenging ideas of what leadership looks like.
Gillard also draws on the wisdom shared in Women and Leadership: Real Lives, Real Lessons, which Gillard co-authored with Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala. This empowering and uplifting talk leverages Gillard’s vast experience and research-backed perspective for maximum impact with groups of all kinds.
Engagement in the Asian Century: The Opportunity of Our Lifetime
As Prime Minister, JULIA GILLARD developed Australia’s landmark policy paper on its role in the Asia Century. Gillard discusses the strategic, economic, and leadership challenges as Asia rises as a global power and the lessons essential to national success in the decades ahead.
How Global Education Can Change the World
As the Chair of the Global Partnership for Education (GPE), the world’s only global fund solely dedicated to education in developing countries, JULIA GILLARD seeks to transform the way the world thinks about-- and who has access to-- quality education. Reflecting on her work with GPE and tenure as Australia’s Prime Minister, where she put education reform at the top of the agenda, Gillard discusses why quality education is so crucial to global development, and how it impacts critical issues ranging from climate change to economic stability.
Julia Gillard’s book ‘Not Now, Not Ever’ is a “barn-burning piece of Australian feminist history in the making”
The first woman to serve as Australia’s Prime Minister, JULIA GILLARD received worldwide attention for her speech in Parliament on the treatment of women in professional and public life. The incisive ‘misogyny speech’, as her words came to be known, continues to energize and motivate women who need to stare down sexism and misogyny in their own lives. This now-viral speech became the subject of the powerful documentary Strong Female Lead and Gillard’s book Not Now, Not Ever: Ten years on from the misogyny speech. Not Now, Not Ever explores the history and culture of misogyny and the roadmap for the future. Called a “barn-burning piece of Australian feminist history in the making” by Better Read Than Dead, Not Now, Not Ever and Gillard’s sought-after keynote speeches continue the work of advocating for women’s rights, women’s place in leadership, and equitable treatment in all spheres of work and life.
Julia Gillard is a powerful advocate for women’s rights, education, and global health
A world leader on gender equality and women’s rights, JULIA GILLARD is known for her inspiration and guidance for women in leadership. The first woman to serve as Prime Minister of Australia, Gillard's prominence as an internationally celebrated feminist was solidified following her now-viral 2012 Parliament speech on misogyny, which became the subject of the powerful documentary Strong Female Lead and her book Not Now, Not Ever: Ten years on from the misogyny speech. Not Now, Not Ever explores the history and culture of misogyny and the roadmap for the future. Gillard is also the co-author of Women and Leadership: Real Lives, Real Lessons.
Gillard serves as Chair of beyondblue – one of Australia’s leading mental health awareness bodies, Wellcome – a global charitable foundation which supports science to solve urgent health challenges, and is the inaugural Chair of the Global Institute for Women’s Leadership – bringing together rigorous research, practice, and advocacy to address the causes of women’s underrepresentation in leadership positions worldwide. Named to Forbes’ 2021 List of “The World’s Most Powerful Women,” Gillard offers an ambitious perspective paired with policy-driven strategies for empowering global advancement through a focus on the interrelated issues of women’s rights, education, and global health.
Watch Julia Gillard in conversation for the Global Institute of Women’s Leadership >>
Watch Julia Gillard on CNBC for International Women’s Day >>
Julia Gillard presents a road map for female leaders in ‘Women and Leadership’
The first female Prime Minister of Australia JULIA GILLARD is a leading voice on gender equality and female leadership around the world. Gillard shares her insights in Women and Leadership: Real Lives, Real Lessons, co-authored by Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, which analyzes the influence of gender on women’s access to positions of leadership. Gillard and Okonjo-Iweala interviews powerful female leaders including Jacinda Ardern, Hillary Clinton, Theresa May, and Christine Lagarde to share their experiences getting access to leadership, the perceptions of them as leaders, and the trajectory of their leadership. By presenting the lessons that can be learned from women who lead, Gillard and her co-author, Nigerian finance minister Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, provide a road map of essential knowledge to inspire us all, and an action agenda for change that allows women to take control and combat gender bias.
Watch Julia Gillard and Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala at Brookings >>
Watch Julia Gillard and Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala share essential lessons for women leaders with TED >>
A Podcast of One's Own with Julia Gillard
Former Prime Minister of Australia JULIA GILLARD offers timely and shrewd insight into how empowering women leaders helps solve global issues. As chair of the Global Institute for Women’s Leadership – which works towards a world in which women of all backgrounds have fair and equal access to leadership, Gillard presents A Podcast of One's Own. In each episode, Julia leads a thoughtful but fun discussion with well-known leaders from the worlds of business, entertainment, media, sport and many more. By celebrating their stories and learning the lessons from their lives, the podcast gives us insight into what needs to be done so more women get to lead
Julia Gillard, world leader on education, offers an ambitious perspective on global education
A world leader with powerful insights on education, JULIA GILLARD is transforming the way the world thinks about – and who has access to – quality education. As Australia’s Prime Minister, Gillard reformed the country's education at every level with a special focus on disadvantaged children. Following her time in office, Gillard served as Board Chair of The Global Partnership for Education (GPE) – the world’s only global fund solely dedicated to education in developing countries. As GPE's CEO said: "Julia Gillard has become one of the most recognized and powerful global advocates for ensuring the world’s children receive the quality education they deserve and need to thrive.”
A passionate education advocate, Gillard has been sought-out for her insights on global education at elite events, such as at the London School of Economics and the prestigious Global Teachers Forum. Gillard was appointed to lead South Australia’s Royal Commission into Early Childhood Education & Care South Australia, which recently released its final report recommending an ambitious overhaul of South Australia's early childhood education and care sector. A Distinguished Fellow with the Center for Universal Education at the Brookings Institution, Gillard offers an ambitious perspective on why quality education is so crucial to national and global development – and how it impacts critical issues from climate change to economic stability.
Watch Julia Gillard’s public lecture at the University of Adelaide >>
Watch Julia Gillard discuss global education with The Washington Post >>
Global leader Julia Gillard is renowned for her mental health advocacy work
The first woman to serve as Australia's Prime Minister JULIA GILLARD is a renowned world leader and passionate advocate for mental health. Gillard's many accomplishments while in office include her strong commitment to mental health and work spearheading mental health reform in Australia. As reported by The Sydney Morning Herald, “her father, John, a psychiatric nurse, had helped shape her understanding of mental health and mental health care facilities as a young girl growing up in South Australia.” Gillard is candid about her own struggles with anxiety and stress while in office, and brings much-needed compassion and tremendous policy knowledge to the conversation surrounding mental health.
Since leaving office, Gillard has served as the chair of beyondblue – Australia's leading mental health awareness organization – advocating for government responsibility, illuminating the economic cost of mental health crises, and emphasizing the importance of centering lived experiences. Gillard frequently makes headlines for her advocacy on issues like the employer’s role in mental health support and her bold proposal for mental health reform – rebuilding a compassionate system, co-designed by the people who use it. Gillard is also the chair of Wellcome – a global charitable foundation which supports science to solve urgent health challenges such as the effects of mental health issues.
Watch Julia Gillard speak about anxiety and the systemic need for support >>
Julia Gillard offers fresh insights facing geopolitical crises with a spirit of opportunity
A world leader with fresh insights on geopolitics, 27th Prime Minister of Australia JULIA GILLARD is heralded for keynotes that are equal parts inspiring and informative, empowering her audiences to seize the myriad opportunities of this moment. During her term, Gillard strengthened Australia’s alliance with the U.S., secured stronger architecture for the relationship with China, upgraded Australia’s ties with India, and deepened ties with Japan, Indonesia, and South Korea. She also developed Australia’s guiding policy paper, Australia in the Asian Century. Gillard speaks on diplomacy & leadership in an age of disruption, engagement in the Asian century, and how empowering women’s leadership will advance the global agenda. A trailblazing world leader, Gillard approaches geopolitical crises from multiple perspectives, providing insights and takeaways tailored to each organization.
Watch Julia Gillard’s public lecture at the University of Adelaide >>
Watch Julia Gillard’s conversation for the Teneo Insights series >>
Julia Gillard was sworn in as the 27th Prime Minister of Australia on 24 June 2010 and served in that office until June 2013. As Prime Minister and in her previous role as Deputy Prime Minister, Ms. Gillard was central to the successful management of Australia’s economy, the 13th biggest economy in the world, during the Global Financial Crisis and as Australia positioned to seize the benefits of Asia’s rise. Ms. Gillard delivered nation-changing policies including reforming Australian education at every level from early childhood to university, creating an emissions trading scheme, improving the provision and sustainability of health care, aged care and dental care, commencing the nation’s first ever national scheme to care for people with disabilities and restructuring the telecommunications sector as well as building the National Broadband Network.
In foreign policy, Ms. Gillard strengthened Australia’s alliance with the United States, secured stronger architecture for the relationship with China, upgraded Australia’s ties with India, and deepened ties with Japan, Indonesia and South Korea. Ms. Gillard has represented Australia at the G20, including winning Australia’s right to host the 2014 meeting, the East Asia Summit, APEC, NATO-ISAF, and chaired CHOGM. Under Ms. Gillard’s leadership, Australia was elected to serve on the United Nations Security Council. As Prime Minister, Ms. Gillard developed Australia’s guiding policy paper, Australia in the Asian Century.
Ms. Gillard is the first woman to ever serve as Australia’s Prime Minister or Deputy Prime Minister. In October 2012, Ms. Gillard received worldwide attention for her speech in Parliament on the treatment of women in professional and public life.
In February 2014, Ms. Gillard was appointed chair of the Global Partnership for Education, a leading organisation dedicated to expanding access and quality education worldwide. Ms Gillard also serves as Patron of CAMFED, the Campaign for Female Education, which tackles poverty and inequality by supporting girls to go to school and succeed, and empowering young women to step up as leaders of change.
In 2017, Ms. Gillard became Chair of Beyond Blue, Australia’s leading mental health awareness body.
In April 2018, Ms. Gillard was appointed Inaugural Chair of the Global Institute for Women’s Leadership at King’s College, London. Through research, practice and advocacy, GIWL is addressing women’s under-representation in leadership, and the way gender negatively impacts the valuation of women leaders. A sister institute has been launched at the Australian National University.
In April 2021, Ms. Gillard was appointed Chair of Wellcome, a global charitable foundation which supports science to solve urgent health challenges. It focuses on the effects of mental health issues, escalating infectious diseases, and climate change.
In October 2022, Ms. Gillard was appointed to lead South Australia’s Royal Commission into Early Childhood Education and Care. The Royal Commission’s line of inquiry includes how families are supported in the first 1000 days of a child’s life, how universal quality preschool programs can be delivered, how all families can access out of school hours care and the benefits of increasing workforce participation from parents through improved access to care.
Ms. Gillard is a Distinguished Fellow with the Center for Universal Education at the Brookings Institution in Washington. Ms. Gillard serves as an Honorary Professor at the University of Adelaide, and is Patron of the John Curtin Prime Ministerial Library in Perth, Western Australia. Ms. Gillard is Patron of Western Chances, which provides scholarships to help young people in Melbourne’s west who are facing financial barriers achieve their potential. Ms. Gillard is Founding Patron of A Monument of One’s Own, a community campaign for more statues of Australian women. Ms. Gillard is Patron of The Museum of Australian Democracy in Canberra, a living museum of the nation’s social and political history. Ms. Gillard is Patron of The McKinnon Prize, an independent, non-partisan award that acknowledges outstanding political leadership.
Ms. Gillard is the author of three books: My Story, which provides a detailed account of Ms. Gillard’s time as Prime Minister, was published in September 2014. Her second book ‘Women and Leadership: real lives, real lessons’ which she co-authored with Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala was published in July 2020. It analyses the influence of gender on women’s access to positions of leadership, the perceptions of them as leaders, the trajectory of their leadership and the circumstances in which it comes to an end. Her third book ‘Not Now, Not Ever: Ten years on from the misogyny speech’ was published in October 2022. A decade on from the speech that stopped people in their tracks, the book asks where were you then? And where are we today? With contributions from others including Mary Beard, Kathy Lette and the Global Institute for Women’s Leadership, it explores the history and culture of misogyny and the roadmap for the future.
On Australia Day 2017, Ms. Gillard was honoured to be awarded a Companion of the Order of Australia.
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