RUSCIANO: It's Mamamia Today, Em Rusciano and Dave Thornton here with you on your International Women's Day and Dave I can think of no one better to talk to than the first female Prime Minister of our country, Julia Gillard, hello!
PM: Hello.
RUSCIANO: Happy International Women's Day Prime Minister!
PM: To you too!
RUSCIANO: How exciting to have you on, thank you for chatting with us today.
PM: It's my pleasure and a great day to be doing it.
RUSCIANO: Prime Minister, this morning when you had your blow-dry, - I'm sure Tim does it, that's how I like to imagine it - did you look in the mirror and did you finally go ‘you know what JG, well done on being the first female Prime Minister,' because that's a big deal.
PM: I'm going to have to shatter all of your illusions now because no, Tim wasn't with me this morning, so life wasn't as easy as that.
But it is a fairly special thing to be the first woman Prime Minister of our nation on International Women's Day.
RUSCIANO: It really is.
THORNTON: Absolutely, and I think for everyone out there who grew up on ABC comedies that their fathers and mothers inflicted them on, Yes Prime Minister.
It's great to have you here, I just wanted to ask though, being the first female Prime Minister of Australia, were there other inspirations for you growing up?
Because surely you are in a bit of a minority when it comes to world leaders. Was there anyone growing up that you aspired to?
PM: Well in the minority unfortunately. When I go to these big international meetings there aren't too many other women around.
When I was growing up I mean really my inspiration was pretty close to home. It was my parents, some of my teachers that I very much looked up to.
In my adult life I've always been a Hillary Clinton fan, I think she has reshaped the way the world sees women in powerful positions and I've got to know her a little bit through being Prime Minister so that's been very delightful.
RUSCIANO: I'm a big Hillary fan too. Do you call her? Are you good buddies? Do you catch up?
PM: We do speak a bit, but mainly I've seen her at international meetings or when she's come here for things associated with the work of the Government, but I do hope to stay in touch with her even as she moves on to the next stage of her life following being Secretary of State.
RUSCIANO: Yes now Prime Minister, I have two daughters coming into the world. Who do you look to now, modern day women that you admire in Australia? Who are the ones now that we can be looking to?
PM: I think there is a tremendous range of women to look up to.
In the corporate world where you can see people like Gail Kelly there at the top of a huge corporation I think that gives women a sense that the doors of business are increasingly open to them, but we've got some more to do there, that's for sure.
Leigh Sales or Laura Tingle, people in the media - when I was growing up every reporter was a man, every newsreader was a man, everybody who wrote for a newspaper was a man.
Those diversified images, those voices of authority, I think that's a fantastic role model for women growing up too.
But I suspect for many young girls they'll pick a role model that's more directly in their environment.
So it'll be that very special teacher that inspires me, it'll be their mum, it'll be their grand-mum.
RUSCIANO: If my children pick me they may end up as drag queens so that may not be the best role model! I do wear a lot of feathers and sequins Julia, but that's okay!
PM: That's fine too!
THORNTON: Julia, please do not say that. For the Prime Minister to say you can dress like Em, which is unicorns and leggings, is not a good example to set!
RUSCIANO: I wear a daytime sequin, Prime Minister, I'm sure you'd support that.
PM: A daytime sequin?
RUSCIANO: Yes!
PM: Okay, I'll think about that.
THORNTON: But Julia the good thing is, if you don't like that attire, just push it towards Tony Abbott. Just say ‘mate, a little bit of glitter will be fine'.
PM: Oh dear, I'm getting a really bad thought here about what that could all look like!
THORNTON: I think we all are unfortunately!
RUSCIANO: So Prime Minister, what will you be doing today on International Women's Day, as the first female Prime Minister, as the most powerful woman in the country, what do you do?
PM: I decided to start my day with 1,700 other people, predominantly women, at the UN Women organisation's huge International Women's Day breakfast.
And we got to listen to a woman who is a magistrate in PNG, and she told us about her own journey coming from a village where she was subject to an arranged marriage that she tried to get away from, and her own struggles to end up doing what she does now, which is to be a law officer, a magistrate, in Papua New Guinea.
And a lot of what she does is dealing with questions of violence, particularly violence against women, in a society which is unfortunately all too characterised by violence.
RUSCIANO: That's amazing, and thank you for being a trailblazer and an amazing woman.
Thank you for being here on our show today on International Women's Day. Prime Minister, thank you very much.
PM: Thank you.