Jenny Shipley Quotes

Before Hillary-bashing became its own thing, she was subjected to the standard-issue woman-bashing used on every powerful woman in Washington.

They say women talk too much. If you have worked in Congress you know that the filibuster was invented by men.

Nobody ever says to men, how can you be a Congressman and a father.

What works for a man, still does not work for a woman - both in terms of how they see themselves and how we see them.

Why is it men are permitted to be obsessed about their work, but women are only permitted to be obsessed about men?

Partly I resented being perceived as weak because I was a girl.

Women's director! Well, I'm very pleased to be considered a master of anything, but remember, for every Jill there was a Jack. People like to pigeonhole you - it's a shortcut, I guess, but once they do, you're stuck with it.

For some reason, men in politics seem to have a bunch of charisma, and women drop around their feet. I haven't noticed that so much for me and men.

A high-powered, successful woman doesn't necessarily have the same support behind her that a man in that position would. Plus, she's expected to be a domestic goddess, as well as the best wife, mother, friend, and lover. But it's not just in politics: you see it in acting, too, and in journalism.

If it's a woman, it's caustic; if it's a man, it's authoritative.

Women get the attention when we get into the men's arena, and that's sad.

I was called a misogynist because I was reducing women to mothers. 'Reducing women to mothers' - now there is possibly the most anti-women statement I've heard.

I feel like people are funny, and women are people, so I'm sick of the distinction.

There are still people who have an issue working with a woman director. Women can be viewed as 'difficult' even though they work in the same way as men.

I think we still believe that ambition is for boys.

How can a woman be expected to be happy with a man who insists on treating her as if she were a perfectly normal human being.

I'm always rather nervous about how you talk about women who are active in politics, whether they want to be talked about as women or as politicians.”

I'll never forget when I was running, when I was knocking on doors for my first office as I served as a Cleveland city councilwoman and to have older men say to me, 'Can you do this and be a wife and a mother?' Excuse me? Women make the world go round. We multitask... But to have that kind of condescending question asked of me in modern times.

The only moment I become aware of being the only woman in a meeting is when actresses are being discussed. If someone's critical of how a woman looks, they turn to me and apologize.

I used to be very interested in the history of women's rights in this country and in other countries. I tried to learn as much as I could about it, and more than anything, I would be called gay. It was phenomenal. But if a boy has something to say, he is appreciated; he's even popular. If a girl says something, it's instantly a threat.

It is obvious that discrimination exists. Women do not have the opportunities that men do. And women that do not conform to the system, who try to break with the accepted patterns, are stigmatized as odd and unfeminine.

When there are good postings available, the people who choose who is to come to that particular position, they will always have, at the back of their minds, a fear that, 'If I take a woman, she might prioritize her family over the job and, therefore, not be available at times when her presence is required.'

It can be frustrating when you're put in a category with others. Women do get lumped together in this reductive grouping, and you think, 'Gosh, that rarely happens with the boys.' I'm sure people don't say to Eddie Redmayne, 'How do you feel about Andrew Garfield?'

There are good artists that have children. Of course there are. They are called men.

When women do take on traditionally male subjects, certain male colleagues can seem affronted that a woman has dared to trespass on their subject. I could given you dozens of examples, but here's one: Max Hastings's review in the 'Sunday Times' in 2009 of Miranda Carter's book 'The Three Emperors'.