On Wednesday’s episode of The View, Goldberg responded to her fellow host Sunny Hostin’s mention of “the snubs” by saying, “There are no snubs, and that’s what you have to keep in mind…not everybody gets a prize. The movies you love may not be loved by the people who are voting.”

The 68-year old former Hollywood actor, herself an Oscar winner in 1990 for her supporting role in Ghost, continued: “Here’s the deal: Everybody doesn’t win!”

“And it’s not the elites — it’s the entire family of the Academy who vote for Best Picture nominations. We all vote for Best Picture, everybody.” 

“So there are 7 to ten Oscar nominations that happen, and you don’t get everything that you want to get.”

The rest of the panelists commented on Ryan Gosling’s Best Supporting Actor nomination, with one questioning, “Did they miss the whole moral of the story of Barbie? Of course we celebrate just Ken and not the woman who is the lead it in and the icon in it?” 

“But actually, I think this could give Greta an idea for a sequel. Barbie goes to Hollywood and is snubbed by the elites who chose Ken over her. So just throwing that out there for an idea.”

Meanwhile, high-profile celebrities and public figures have continued to weigh in on the controversy. 

Former Secretary of State and 2016 Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton posted a message to Robbie and Gerwig on Instagram.

“Greta and Margot, While it can sting to win the box office but not take home the gold, your millions of fans love you,” she wrote. “You’re both so much more than Kenough #HillaryBarbie.”

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A post shared by Hillary Clinton (@hillaryclinton)

During an interview with the Today show on Wednesday, last year’s Best Actress winner Michelle Yeoh said the snubs also left her scratching her head.

“You do think, ‘How do you get nominated for best picture but not best director and not best actress?’” she said. “It happens and I’m sorry it happened to them because it’s obviously one of the most successful and beloved movies.”

“It’s just, for us, it’s not enough nominations to go around. The only take is [that] it’s so competitive out there and there is no guarantee because you’re not the only voter, you know? It’s widespread. Thank God the movie got nominated for best picture.” 

“Joy and disappointment… seems to go hand in hand.”

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While Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley has said that she is “very pro-life,” she has also said that abortion is a “personal choice.” Her wording on different thorny political issues such as abortion has left some voters confused about where she actually stands.

This has led some political observers, such as Politico journalist Michael Kruse, to say that Haley has “made a career of taking both sides,” citing her positions on issues such as identity politics, Donald Trump and abortion.

In the weeks leading up to the Iowa caucuses, an Iowa voter praised Haley for pursing a “political middle,” noting this allowed the former South Carolina governor to “compromise” and work “both sides.” Conversely, some conservative commentators have also suggested that Haley’s approach is “inauthentic.”

Haley placed third in the Iowa caucuses on Jan. 15, 2024, drawing support from 19% of voters there.

Polls on Jan. 16, 2024, showed Trump’s lead over Haley in the New Hampshire primary, set for Jan. 23, narrowing.

We are communication and English scholars who study the role of language and persuasion in politics. We are particularly interested in the ways that speakers and writers adapt their messages and language in different situations and among various voters. We call this concept rhetorical adaptivity.

Our research shows that women presidential candidates, more than the men they run against, often speak differently to different audiences in pursuit of moderation and common ground. They also tend to shift their strategies and messages in response to criticism. And they often pay a price for it.

Rhetoric and presidential campaigns

Politicians changing their words and messages to appeal to different audiences is the subject of a book we co-authored in 2023, “Hillary Clinton’s Career in Speeches: The Promises and Perils of Women’s Rhetorical Adaptivity.”

This project examined how Clinton, her presidential opponents in 2008 and 2016, and the Democratic women who ran for president in 2020 campaigned differently. We found that women more commonly adjusted their language and reshaped their positions to appeal to more voters and to manage the controversies they faced.

In 2016, for example, Hillary Clinton tried to find more of a middle ground on abortion by referring to the “fetus” as an “unborn person” and talking about restrictions on “late-term abortions” – even as she defended a “pro-choice” position.

Both Clinton and Haley opponents have questioned their authenticity, citing the politicians’ shifting language and positions. Such challenges aimed to undermine their candidacies by suggesting they lacked the character to be president.

Haley’s rhetorical maneuvers

Haley’s critics also cite her shifting positions, including on issues such as abortion, Palestinians in Gaza and Donald Trump to argue she lacks a political core.

Former Vice President Mike Pence, for example, was quick to condemn Haley’s “compromising stance” on abortion during the August 2023 Republican debate.

Haley’s opponents have also challenged her changing positions on the Israel-Hamas war. As the former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, Haley supported Israel and disparaged the U.N.’s Palestinian refugee agency for “using American money to feed Palestinian hatred of the Jewish state.”

Yet, in the early days of the Israel-Hamas war in October 2023, Haley showed more sympathy for the Palestinians.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis ridiculed Haley’s compassion as being “politically correct.” Haley reaffirmed her pro-Israel priorities in response during a speech in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, in mid-October 2023. Haley said she supported Israel and called for the elimination of Hamas. Concern for the Palestinians slipped down the ladder of her priorities.

As a U.N. ambassador, meanwhile, Haley was unwavering in her support for Trump. In her 2019 book, “With All Due Respect,” Haley concluded: “In every instance I dealt with Trump, he was truthful, he listened and he was great to work with.”

Since then, Haley has carved a middle ground approach to Trump. She has argued, “We need him in the Republican Party. I don’t want us to go back to the days before Trump.”

Yet, in other contexts, she disparages Trump for sowing “chaos, vendettas and drama.”

Trump called her out on this discrepancy in the fall of 2023. “She criticizes me one minute, and 15 minutes later, she un-criticizes me.”

Haley’s character woes

Other critics frame Haley’s positions as “flip-flopping.” They don’t interpret what she is doing as moderating her positions or using the language of compromise to build consensus.

Time magazine ran a headline in February 2023 that read: “A Brief History of Nikki Haley’s Biggest Flip Flops on Trump.” In March 2023, The New York Times featured an opinion piece titled, “The Serene Hypocrisy of Nikki Haley.”

Challenging the authenticity of presidential candidates is commonplace, but it is especially piercing when the challenge is directed against women candidates. In presidential politics, research shows that women are conditioned to be uniters, consensus-builders and mitigators of any negativity they face.

Yet, efforts to do this and still “be all things to all people” often result in women candidates falling into gaffe traps.

Haley’s initial refusal to associate “slavery” with the Civil War in December 2023 reinforced a southern trope that some Republicans of color called a “tactical blunder.”

Women’s election challenges

More leadership experts are recognizing the benefits of political candidates integrating multiple perspectives into their thinking and speech. The Pew Research Center found in 2018 that in politics as well as business, women are perceived to be more “compassionate” and “empathic” and are more likely to work out “compromises” than men.

Yet, in presidential campaigns, and especially primaries, compromise, adaptivity and problem-solving are exchanged for hubris, rigidity and ideological purity. Playing to the political middle is treated as politically evasive and opportunistic.

Eventually, women playing to the middle become more gaffe-prone as the campaign unfolds. Women, more than the men they run against, are granted minimal room by opponents and pundits for unforced errors before they are quickly dismissed as “unelectable.”

Shawn J. Parry-Giles, Professor of Communication, University of Maryland and David Kaufer, Professor Emeritus of English, Carnegie Mellon University

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

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Kim Kardashian, Gloria Steinem, Megan Thee Stallion, Amy Schumer. They are just a few of the celebrities among many who are interviewed on the show. The trailer for the show dropped overnight, though its star-studded cast was not what got people talking.

Thirty seconds into the trailer, Hillary is seen talking to the California-based marriage celebrant, Rev Whittney Ijanaten, about her marriage to Bill. 

“You have a marriage that has been on public display since the beginning,” Ijanaten says. “You said the gutsiest thing you ever did was stay in your marriage,” referring to an interview Clinton gave with ABC’s Good Morning America in October 2019 to promote the book.

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Clinton interjects: “That doesn’t mean that’s right for everybody.” Presumably, more will be revealed when the pilot drops on September 9, but it’s definitely enough to whet the public’s appetite for Clinton’s opinions about her husband’s infidelity while he was in office. 

Up until 2016, the Democratic presidential candidate, former senator and secretary of state has been private about her marriage to the former president, though in 2020 she opened up about it in an interview in the HULU documentary, “Hillary.”

“I was so, personally,” Hillary said. “I…just, [was] hurt, I can’t believe this. I can’t believe you lied.”

The documentary, directed by Nanette Burstein, focused on her life and career in the spotlight.

“I defended and stood by him because I thought the impeachment process was wrong,” she continued to say in the documentary. “But that wasn’t the necessary answer to what I’d do with my marriage.”

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Cameron Bailey, CEO of Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF), said he was thrilled to welcome Hillary and Chelsea Clinton to this year’s event. The show debuted at the TIFF’s Industry Conference Visionaries program last month.

“As two ‘gutsy’ women themselves, their breadth of experience and insight into social issues and gender politics is inspiring,” Bailey said. “We are honoured to host this special conversation as part of TIFF’s Industry Conference and spotlight their upcoming Apple Original documentary series Gutsy.”

Gutsy, an eight-part docuseries to stream on Apple TV, will include candid conversations with artists, activists, community leaders and community heroes across the U.S. Featured stars include Glennon Doyle, Dr Jane Goodall, Goldie Hawn, Kate Hudson, and Wanda Sykes.

Both Hillary and Chelsea are credited as executive producers of the show, which was backed by global studio HiddenLight Productions, founded by the pair with Sam Branson in 2020. 

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Speaking to Gayle King on CBS This Morning, Clinton said she wasn’t surprised by the supreme court’s decision to revoke the constitutional right to abortion because it was the result of 50-year campaign from the conservative side of politics.

“I was not surprised, because I think that was the goal of packing the court with justices that were on the record for many years of being against women’s constitutional right to make decisions about their own bodies,” Clinton said.

“But now that it has happened, I think everybody understands that this is not necessarily the only effort that we’re going to see this court undertake to turn back the clock on civil rights, gay rights, women’s rights beyond abortion.”

Clinton said she hopes the Roe v Wade decision will “wake up a lot of Americans”.

“I don’t care what political party or religion you are; the question is: who decides? Is the government going to be in your bedroom, is the government going to be making these decisions?

“We’re only at the beginning of this terrible travesty that this court has inflicted on us.”

Clinton reiterated that the supreme court justices who voted to overturn Roe v Wade were “selected for this purpose”, noting it was the result of a long campaign to restrict the right to abortion.

“You’ve got to give the other side lots points for their relentlessness, their total commitment to getting what they want done, regardless of who is hurt by it and regardless of who is stripped of rights,” she said.

Clinton referenced Justice Clarence Thomas, who has floated the idea that the supreme court could soon challenge other rights, like access to contraception and same sex marriage.

“I went to law school with him,” Clinton said. “He’s been a person of grievance for as long as I have known him — resentment, grievance, anger.

“Women are going to die, Gayle. Women will die.”

Back in 2016, when Clinton was vying for the presidency against Donald Trump, she said she would defend Roe v Wade if elected as president, and would always fight for the constitutional right to abortion.

“We have come too far to have that turned back now,” she said, facing off against Trump in a debate after he indicated he would appoint anti-abortion judges to the supreme court.

“Indeed he [Trump] said there should be some form of punishment for women who obtain abortions, and I just could not be more opposed to that kind of thinking.”

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Through a perhaps unexpectedly peaceful ceremony, the exchange of power took place with Biden signalling in his speech that the occasion marked a moment of much-needed national renewal.

“This is democracy’s day. A day of history and hope, of renewal and resolve. Through a crucible for the ages, America has been tested anew and America has risen to the challenge,” he said.

Referencing the period of division they were emerging out from, Biden added that now was the time to come together.

“As we look ahead in our uniquely American way, restless, bold, optimistic, and set our sights on a nation we know we can be, and we must be.”

His words rung out as the tonic sorely needed by Americans but also the rest of the world, which has watched four years of destruction inflicted by the nation’s presidential predecessor, Donald Trump.

However, it was the Democrats’ women that became the most visual reminder that hope and humanity could be restored.

Bold, in a purple pant suit, Kamala Harris farewelled Mike Pence before being escorted to the top of Capitol Hill and giving her oath. Sworn in as the 49th Vice President by Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor, a grinning and visibly relieved Harris embraced her husband and waved to onlookers.

Former First Ladies Michelle Obama and Hillary Clinton similarly wore purple. A colour symbolising not only bipartisanship– the mixing of Republicans’ blue and Democrats’ red– but also the central colour of the Women’s Suffrage Movement; the instinct of freedom and dignity and women’s power.

After a tumultuous period in world history, these women stand for us all.

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Rudolph and Poehler, who have each impersonated Harris and Clinton, respectively, on Saturday Night Live, hosted the virtual fundraising event, drawing more than 100,000 donations.

The women came together over their screens to ask each other questions and talk about the upcoming U.S election.

Kamala Harris was keen to hear how Rudolph and Poehler prepared for their impersonations on SNL.

“You’ve each played one of us on Saturday Night Live. Can you just …walk us through what that process is like?” Harris asked the two comedians.

“When I started Saturday Night Live, I wasn’t an impressionist. But it’s part of the duty of working there to make sure you can impersonate current events or people in the news,” Rudolph said.

“In terms of Senator Harris, I didn’t have an impression because I wasn’t walking around the house doing my Kamala,” she said. “But I think it starts with trying to get someone’s voice if you can.”

“There’s nothing crazily overt about Senator Harris, but I have to tell you, when I got to Saturday Night Live and they put the wig on me, it was done.”

“It is all about the wig, isn’t it?” Poehler said.

In terms of preparation for her Hillary Clinton impression, Poehler joked she does “a Tom Brady”.

“Tons of workouts, I eat really clean. I hang out with my supermodel wife. I try to get a lot of sleep, take my protein powder, stay away from processed foods and get ready for the season because I want to get that ring.”

Clinton said she was amazed when she turned up to Saturday Night Live once and saw Poehler wearing one of her outfits.

“I couldn’t believe it,” Clinton said. “It was just an out of body experience.”

“It is pretty strange to stand next to the person you are dressed as,” Poehler added.

The women agreed that it was important for leaders to have a good sense of humour, and not take themselves too seriously. Talking about Donald Trump, Clinton said she’s never seen him laugh.

“It struck me; I’ve never seen him laugh. I’ve never ever seen him make fun of himself, certainly not his hairdo. That is something I am quite experienced in,” Clinton said. “It is really telling that part of the cruelty and the indifference and just the plain meanness that we see on a regular basis from him is in part because he has no sense of humour.”

“He loves putting people down, not lifting them up. Sharing a joke, having a laugh, that’s just not part of his vocabulary.”

Harris said, “There is nothing joyful about him, there is nothing about him that inspires joy…And it is such a shame, really. On one level, you just have to feel like everyone should have something in their life that gives them the ability to smile, a genuine smile.”

Rudolph also asked Clinton if she could offer some advice to Harris before the upcoming Vice Presidential debate, where she will face Vice President Mike Pence.

“I think what Mike Pence will try to do is somehow subtly undercut Kamala, try to say, ‘Well that is not the way it is done. That is not what we expect. Or that is not what we believe.’ Trying to somehow put her in the box of ‘the inexperienced woman candidate’,” Clinton said.

“And she is not going to stand for that, and she is not going to put up with it. And she has to modulate her responses because we know there is a double standard that is alive and well when it comes to women in politics.

“She has got to be firm and effective in rebutting any implication that comes from the other side, but to do it in a way that doesn’t scare or alienate voters.”

Watch the full fundraiser event below.

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“For four years, people have said to me, ‘I didn’t realise how dangerous he was’, ‘I wish I could go back and do it over’, or worse, ‘I should have voted’.”

“Well, this can’t be another coulda, woulda, shoulda election. If you vote by mail, request your ballot now and send it back as soon as you can. If you vote in person, do it early. Bring a friend and wear a mask. Become a poll worker. Most of all, no matter what, vote. Vote like our lives and livelihoods are on the line, because they are.”

Clinton also spoke about Trump’s ineptitude as President and the need for new leadership.

“I wish Donald Trump knew how to be a president because America needs a president right now,” she said.

“Remember back in 2016, when Trump asked: what do you have to lose? Well now we know our health care, our jobs, our loved ones, our leadership in the world – and even our post office.

“If Trump is re-elected things will get even worse… we need unity now more than ever.”

Speaking about Joe Biden and Kamala Harris, Clinton said they are leaders who can match the moment.

“Everyone has a story about Joe’s thoughtfulness and empathy. I remember him calling after my mother, Dorothy, died. We talked about being raised by strong, no-nonsense women.

“And boy, did Joe, pick the right partner in Kamala Harris—another daughter of an extraordinary mother. Kamala is relentless in the pursuit of justice, and uncommonly kind.

“I know something about the slings and arrows, she’ll face and believe me, this former district attorney and Attorney General can handle them all.”

Hillary spoke about the significance of Kamala Harris’ nomination for Vice President, especially as the first Black woman and Asian-American to accept a spot on a major presidential ticket.

“Tonight I am thinking of the girls and boys who see themselves in America’s future because of Kamala Harris—a Black woman, the daughter of Jamaican and Indian immigrants, and our nominee for Vice President of the United States. This is our country’s story: breaking down barriers and expanding the circle of possibility.”

“Remember: Joe and Kamala can win 3 million more votes and still lose. Take. It. From. Me. We need numbers so overwhelming Trump can’t sneak or steal his way to victory.”

The full transcript of Clinton’s speech can be found here.

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Harris will be formally nominated for the vice-presidential role by her sister Maya Harris, her niece Meena Harris and stepdaughter Elle Emhoff. She will address the convention and is expected to speak about her the significance of her historic candidacy and her affinity for Joe Biden and his late son Beau.

A former prosecutor, Harris is also expected to highlight President Donald Trump’s record and demonstrate that she is highly qualified for the role of vice-president.

The last time I spoke at the Democratic National Convention was in 2012.

Tonight at 9 p.m. ET I’ll be back, this time accepting the nomination for Vice President of the United States. pic.twitter.com/nTl4uXDe5n

— Kamala Harris (@KamalaHarris) August 19, 2020

Numerous other high-profile Democrats will speak today, including former Secretary of State and First Lady Hillary Clinton, who lost the presidency to Donald Trump in 2016 despite winning the popular vote by approximately 3 million votes.

Clinton’s presence at the Democratic National Convention marks four years since she made history as the first woman nominated for the presidency by a major party. Her return to the convention stage comes one day after the 100th anniversary of women’s suffrage in the U.S.

“I wish Donald Trump had been a better president. But, sadly, he is who he is,” Clinton is expected to say.

She will also speak directly to Americans who did not vote in the 2016 election, saying, “Well, this can’t be another woulda coulda shoulda election.”

“Vote like our lives and livelihoods are on the line, because they are.”

Congratulations to @JoeBiden on officially becoming the next Democratic nominee.

We have 75 days left to elect him the next president.

Let’s make them count. https://t.co/mxkpLIOEux pic.twitter.com/uQOvqXRbMf

— Hillary Clinton (@HillaryClinton) August 19, 2020

In the wake of Clinton’s run for president in 2016, women across America have been a powerful force in taking on Trump. This year, a record number of women, including Kamala Harris, Elizabeth Warren and Amy Klobuchar, put themselves forward for the Democratic presidential nomination. 

Since Trump’s election, record numbers of women have also run for the House of Representatives and the Senate, many of them playing a key role in regaining a Democrat majority in the House in 2018.

Elizabeth Warren and former U.S President Barack Obama are also set to speak.

More to come.

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Biden introduced Clinton as his “friend, and a woman who should be the President of the United States right now.”

Clinton smiled and replied, “I am thrilled to be part of your campaign, to not only endorse you but to help highlight a lot of these issues that are at stake in this presidential election.”

“This is a moment we need a leader and president like Joe Biden,” she said. “He has been preparing for this moment his entire life. I’ve not only been a colleague of Joe Biden’s, I’ve been a friend, and I can tell you that I wish he were president right now, but I can’t wait until he is if all of us do our part.”

But her endorsement has been met with a chorus of criticism claiming she is “enabling a sexual predator” amid allegations Biden sexually assaulted a former staffer in 1993. His accuser, Tara Reade, appeared on Fox News on the same evening, saying she voted for Clinton in 2016, in the primary and that she is a “lifelong Democrat.”

“Yet what I see now is someone enabling a sexual predator, and it was my former boss, Joe Biden, who raped me,” she said.

“Hillary Clinton has a history of enabling powerful men to cover up their sexual predatory behaviours and their inappropriate sexual misconduct. We don’t need that for this country. We don’t need that for our new generation coming up that wants institutional rape culture to change.”

Biden is being not-so-coy with his tactics regarding the optics of his relations with women. Last month, he announced he would pick a woman as his Vice President should he win office, a decision which was seen to counter the impact of the accusations he now faces.

In an exclusive interview with the Daily Caller News Foundation on Tuesday, Reade demanded transparency from Biden’s team and called on them to release the documents relating to his time in the Senate when she alleges that he’d kissed her, touched her and penetrated her with his fingers without her consent.

“Joe Biden, I want you to release all the personnel records from 1973 to 2009 and be transparent about your office practices,” Reade told Daily Caller News Foundation. “I would like to hold you accountable for what happened to me, to how your staff protected you and enabled you, bullied me multiple times into silence.”

Clinton’s endorsement comes on the back of a wave of other high profile endorsements in the last few weeks, including Senator Bernie Sanders, former President Barack Obama and Senator Elizabeth Warren.

“Just think if we had a president who not only listened to the science, facts over science, but brought us together,” Clinton added last night. “Showed the kind of compassion we need in our president, a real president, not just somebody who plays one on TV.”

During their fifty-three minute conversation, Biden and Clinton outlined a range of progressive policies they wish to see in the future including universal health care, higher minimum wage, expanded unemployment compensation, abortion rights, and paid sick leave.

“We need to make ensure women have access to all health services through this crisis,” Biden said. “Abortion is an essential health care service. It’s being used as a political wedge right now and it shouldn’t be.”

Biden acknowledged in his opening remarks that the pandemic “hits hardest those who are most vulnerable and who have the fewest resources including women of colour and low-income women. This pandemic is lifting the curtain on so many inequalities in our society.”

Clinton emphasised the disproportionate impact faced by women working in the front line and women “holding down the home.”

“Eighty percent of health care workers in US are women,” she continued. “And 1 out of 3 jobs held by women is classified as essential.”

In his closing remarks, Biden said he’d continue to call Clinton for her advice. “There’s so much work to do but I have no doubt we can meet these challenges brought on by this virus if we work together. There is no quit in America.”

A few hours ago on Twitter, Biden posted a warm acknowledgement and appreciation for Clinton, saying, “I’ve known @HillaryClinton for years, and know that her dedication and passion for bettering our country are second to none. I’m grateful for her endorsement and for her friendship — and look forward to working alongside her to get Donald Trump out of the White House.”

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Gillard spoke about “deeply embedded” sexism on stage overnight with Hillary Clinton in the UK, during King’s College London’s World Questions event series, while also penning a piece on the research findings in The Independent.

Twenty six per cent of Britons believe that intelligence is one of the key factors for helping women get ahead, compared with 17 per cent who said the same for men, according to The Global Institute for Women’s Leadership research, in partnership with the Policy Institute and Ipsos MORI.

Thank you @HillaryClinton for joining me for an inspiring and engaging discussion at the #worldquestions event series hosted by @GIWLkings and @policyatkings. As always, it was wonderful to hear your insights into equality, politics, and some of our biggest world questions. pic.twitter.com/i5nbFyQi6D

— Julia Gillard (@JuliaGillard) November 13, 2019

There’s a gender difference again when it comes to determining whether ‘working hard’ is key to getting ahead, with 37 per cent saying it is for women compared with 29 per cent for men.

And how about having connections? Well that’s one factor that does work in men’s favour, with 29 per cent of Britons saying it’s important for men’s success compared with 15 per cent for women.

As for looks, one in ten said it’s a factor for women to get ahead, compared with 4 per cent for men

“Make no mistake,” Gillard writes on the findings, in The Independent, “We’ve made a great deal of progress on equality between women and men.

“But there’s still a long way to go before capable, competent women get the same rewards as their less-than-stellar male counterparts.

“Just ask Hillary Clinton.”

Gillard also revealed that the top three barriers to women’s success at work, according to Britons, include: employers not doing enough to close the gender gap; a lack of support from employers for balancing care and work; and employers not promoting women into senior positions.

Clinton told Gillard during the Kings College event that in 2019 women still face embedded sexism.

“We still face a lot of these deeply embedded attitudes that are then internalised by girls and women, which often act as artificial barriers for a lot of women’s aspirations and the larger society’s expectations,” she said.

Clinton also spoke about the need to take online threats made against female politicians “very seriously”, noting the murder of British MP Jo Cox by a right-wing terrorist back in 2016. “It is fuelled by these online vile attacks that are out there but it also breaks into the real world,” she said.

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After all this is a woman, that aged 30 founded the Arkansas Advocates for Children and Families; the person who laid the groundwork for the Affordable Care Act;  and who championed the Violence Against Women Act. She was also instrumental in negotiating the 2009 Copenhagen Climate Change Accord.

Oh, and, she also ran for President at one of the most precarious times in the world’s history, against one of the most terrifying opponents.

But what does the former First Lady qualify as her gutsiest act? Staying in her marriage.

Yesterday, on Good Morning America, the former Democratic front-runner for presidency was asked by the show’s host, “What’s the gutsiest thing you’ve ever done?” Clinton inhaled sharply, darting her eyes up, then answering: “Personally, make the decision to stay in my marriage. Publicly, politically – run for president.”

Asked the gutsiest thing she's ever done, Hillary Clinton tells @GMA, "Personally, make the decision to stay in my marriage."

"Publicly, politically, run for president. And keep going. Just get up every day and keep going." https://t.co/35Zg7cQ9nU pic.twitter.com/29i3Fmicmk

— ABC News (@ABC) October 1, 2019

The question was posed in reference to Clinton’s latest book, published this week and co-authored by daughter, Chelsea. ‘The Book of Gutsy Women’ is a compilation of one hundred and three women, highlighting their achievements and contribution to the world.

Speaking about the book’s message and objective, Clinton said “We’ve been talking about women who inspire us our whole lives.”

“So many of my earliest memories are my mother talking about women who inspired her,” added Chelsea. “This is just a continuation of the conversation that we started more than thirty years ago.”

For both Hillary and Chelsea, gutsy women include LGBTQ trailblazer Edie Windsor, writers like Rachel Carson and Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie and Historian Mary Beard.

“For so long we haven’t heard the stories of the women who have always been there and have helped make not only our country but our world healthier and more equitable,” Chelsea told WBUR Radio this week. 

Figures in the book also include former first ladies Eleanor Roosevelt, Betty Ford, tennis champion Billie Jean King and abolitionist Harriet Tubman.

Of course, there are any number of incredible women who could have been included in this selection. But during their interview with WBUR, Hillary said there had been three core questions, she and Chelsea had held by: “Is this woman in and of herself someone who we admire? Did she do something to try to help others? And, did she try to to break down barriers and overcome obstacles?”

In the past week, the pair have been touring the U.S, talking to media and networks like CBS News. During another interview last week, the former Presidential candidate told ‘Sunday Morning’ host Jane Pauley that “women have been written out of history from the very beginning of recorded time.”

“To a great extent they still are. This is a small contribution to the efforts to tell these stories.”

The pair’s hope is that the book encourages citizens to step towards a more inclusive world.

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That’s the sentence Julia Gillard uttered in her famously astute and dignified final speech as Prime Minister, in reference to having been the first female leader of Australia. 

Being a woman wasn’t everything but nor was it nothing and Gillard says the same can be said of Hillary Clinton.

“I think there are many lessons coming out of the Trump/Clinton context and, because the whole campaign was not about gender, the lessons are about more than gender,”  Gillard told Fairfax Media.

The world's most powerful women "all had some complaints over the washbasin" when they got together, says Julia Gillard https://t.co/kJvAoF0lUb | @fergushunter

— The Sydney Morning Herald (@smh) January 27, 2018

Clinton and Gillard forged a friendship many years ago and their experiences as women in positions of power are similar. Uncannily similar, Gillard concluded after reading Clinton’s book about the presidential campaign.

Both were subject to rampant sexism, vile abuse and unadulterated misogyny, and both are now openly talking about it. So it is unsurprising that Gillard and Clinton have announced they are joining forces to challenge negative stereotypes of females who aspire to be political leaders and to encourage more women to run.

Both have spoken and written about the research Sheryl Sandberg relied upon in her bestselling Lean In  that illustrates the bind female leaders face.

“If we’re too tough, we’re unlikable. If we’re too soft, we’re not cut out for the big leagues,” Clinton wrote. “If we work too hard, we’re neglecting our families. If we put family first, we’re not serious about work. If we have a career but no children, there’s something wrong with us… if we want to compete for higher office, we’re too ambitious.”

Continuing her advocacy for women and girls globally, @JuliaGillard is joining forces with @HillaryClinton to examine the treatment of women in leadership. Brilliant initiative https://t.co/wyZP7kiulb

— EMILY's List Aus (@EMILYsListAus) January 27, 2018

Clinton and Gillard want to work together to change the enduring perception of female leaders as unlikeable, selfish and ruthless.

“There’s plenty of research now that people tend to correlate likeability and leadership in men, but tend to think of female leaders as pretty hard-boiled, and must’ve scratched and clawed to get there … and so they’re not very nice,” Gillard told Fairfax Media. “That certainly played out hard against Hillary.

In her book Clinton described misogyny as “what happens when a woman gets a job that a man wanted, and instead of shaking her hand and wishing her well, he calls her a bitch and vows to do everything he can to make sure she fails”.

In an interview with Fairfax Media Gillard expressed optimism that changing this is achievable.

“I’m hopeful there are some things we can do together in the future on these questions of leadership and gender, bringing to that possibility some of our shared experiences,” Gillard said.

During her Prime Ministership and the majority of her political career, this isn’t subject matter Gillard would have openly explored. She has said that she had hoped if she put her head down and worked hard, her gender would be moot. It wasn’t. Nor is it for any female or male in any setting. Leadership aside.

Gender is omni-present and it throws up a variety of different dynamics. Until recently these dynamics for women in power remained hidden from view. In an interview with BBC radio over the weekend Gillard admitted that female world leaders would often vent or exchange war stories in the bathroom at large meetings.

“You would, I mean, often on a trek to the bathroom, or at the hand basins in the bathroom, talk to each other and have a wry smile about some of the ridiculous things that get written about you,” Gillard said.

World's most powerful women often gather in bathrooms at global events to "vent", says Julia Gillard. https://t.co/bzAtsdPOE8 pic.twitter.com/ZLCZmKFzNx

— The Age (@theage) January 27, 2018

Gillard says getting individuals to scrutinise why they think the way they do, particularly about women in power, is one way to move the dial in this realm. The coming together of women online is a potentially effective catalyst for change too.

“The flashpoint that the internet can provide of bringing people together and empowering the next woman and the next woman to speak up is a truly astonishing thing,” she said.

Fighting against the stereotypes that limit female leaders is a noble pursuit. It’s a cause with many champions and Gillard and Clinton are among them. The question is, given the torrent of misogyny they both faced is it fanciful to believe there is enough willingness to change perceptions? I live in hope.

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