Lauren O'Connor, Women's Agenda
Elise Delpiano will be the first recipient of the Julia Gillard Next Generation Internship, EMILY’s List Australia announced today.
The appointment aims to continue EMILY’s List’s ambitions to nurture, promote, and encourage the next generation of female leaders, while preserving the importance of Julia Gillard’s legacy as the first female Prime Minister of Australia.
Delpiano is a student at the University of New South Wales. She has previously participated in the Commonwealth Women Parliamentarians ‘Stepping Up’ program and was elected as the Opposition Leader of the first female-led Commonwealth Youth Parliament in Canada in 2016.
In a statement announcing the appointment, Gillard said she’s proud to be supporting the next generation of women leaders. “Congratulations to Elise on becoming the first intern in this program. I’m looking forward to hearing more about her research in the months to come.”
Delpiano’s first task will be to ask explore why New Zealand is so far in front of Australia when it comes to women’s political empowerment and gender equality.
She will complete a research project in a political office, comparing the experience of the experience of New Zealand’s female political leaders with that of Australian women. Delpiano will also travel to New Zealand where she will meet Prime Minister of New Zealand, Jacinda Ardern, and other female political leaders.
Tanja Kovac, National Co-Convenor at EMILY’s List Australia, said: “EMILY’s List Australia is proud to partner with Ms Gillard in creating this program to provide opportunities for future women political leaders. Our goal is to make it easier for the next woman to have a political career and not face the same adversity as our first woman Prime Minister.”
Congratulations Elise Delpiano!