CHANEL CONTOS AND JULIA GILLARD
FOUNDER OF TEACH US CONSENT AND FORMER PRIME MINISTER
When the former Australian sex discrimination commissioner Elizabeth Broderick put sexual consent activist Chanel Contos in touch with her friend Julia Gillard, Australia’s 27th (and only female) prime minister invited the nervous young master’s student to lunch in London, where they were based. What has followed is a beautiful cross-generational friendship.
“One of the best ways women support women is by networking with people who can make a difference in our lives,” says Gillard, who chairs the Global Institute for Women’s Leadership. “That is what happened with Chanel and me. Our first conversation was both broad and deep.”
Contos says, “For me, women helping each other through friendship is something that should be a default because there’s enough space and power for us all. [Gillard is] always passionate, empathetic, and
