Julie Bishop is arguably the nation’s most powerful woman, who can hold her own on the world stage.
But in the May issue of The Australian Women’s Weekly, she reveals her inspiration and drive comes from her late mother, Isabel.
“Mum was always a source of wisdom,” she says. “She was married at 21 and raised four children on a rural property in the Adelaide Hills. By the time my older sisters had left home, she was frustrated with her life and complained she would never be able to get a job outside the home. I went through the classifieds and found a job for a community youth leader and I pinned that ad to the phone.”
Julie’s mother got the job, and never looked back and soon she was running the local youth centre.
“Then she went into local politics and eventually became the mayor of East Torrens. She had wanted to study law at university, but couldn’t as she had to look after her mother who was dying. So, I guess Mum subconsciously encouraged me into law – that was what she’d wanted to do, but didn’t have the chance. And she showed me you can achieve anything.”
Julie Bishop told her story to encourage other young women, as part of her role as a judge in The Australian Women’s Weekly Qantas Women of the Future Awards.
Read more about The Australian Women’s Weekly Qantas Women of the Future Awards in the May issue of The Weekly, on sale now.
