Julie Bishop laments ‘gender deafness’ during her time in politics | Australia news

Julie Bishop has vented her frustration over the “gender deafness” she frequently encountered in situations during her political career when she was the only woman in the room.

The first female Australian foreign affairs minister retired from federal politics at the May election after her unsuccessful tilt at the Liberal leadership last year.

“If I spoke in a room of 20 men, if I would put forward my idea, there was sort of silence,” Bishop told Andrew Denton’s Interview program on the Seven Network which airs on Tuesday night.

“It was as if I hadn’t spoken and then somebody would say precisely what I said or come up with precisely the same idea. And then they’d all say, ‘Oh that’s a great idea. Why don’t we do that?’

“And I’d say, ‘Excusi … Didn’t I just say that?”

Bishop said she initially thought it was an individual problem but later discovered it was a widespread phenomenon affecting women globally.

“I just labelled it gender deafness,” she said. “I love men and I think they have a wonderful contribution to make to humanity. But if you’re the only female voice in the room, they just don’t seem to hear you. It’s as if they’re not attuned to it.”

During US president Barack Obama’s first term in office, female White House staff devised an “amplification” strategy to ensure their voices were heard. It went viral. When a woman made a good point, others would repeat it and credit the source.

Bishop lamented being the only woman in Tony Abbott’s new cabinet in 2013.

“I wasn’t actually appointed,” she said. “I was elected deputy leader so I was there anyway. So if you put me aside, not one woman was selected and appointed.”

Bishop never embraced the term “feminist” saying she did not like the label and preferred to focus on actions.

During her last press conference as foreign affairs minister she was asked if the Liberal party was ever likely to elect a popular female leader, Bishop responded: “When we find one, I’m sure we will.”

Earlier this year she stopped short of calling for quotas in the Liberal party.

Bishop was recently appointed the first female chancellor of the Australian National University and has attracted controversy over her private sector role with the international advisory firm Palladium.