> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.changeout.org/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # The right kind of protest - URL: https://www.changeout.org/the-right-kind-of-protest/ - Published: 2026-09-11T09:19:00.000Z - Updated: 2026-09-11T09:18:59.000Z - Description: Julia Gillard told us about a suffragist who chained herself to the House of Commons gallery so no one could stop her watching. On backlash, hope, and what actually counts as the right kind of protest. - Author: Lucy Caldicott Last week I was in a committee room at the Houses of Parliament, listening to Julia Gillard, while a few streets away the UK's new Prime Minister was preparing for his first Prime Minister's Questions. Julia was Australia's twenty-seventh Prime Minister, the first and only woman to have held that job. When she was in office she faced Question Time four times a week. It's only once a week here. Julia now chairs the [King's College London Global Institute for Women's Leadership](https://www.kcl.ac.uk/giwl/who/who-we-are?ref=changeout.org) and also the [Wellcome Trust](https://wellcome.org/?ref=changeout.org). She reflected on her work on gender and the backlash against women's rights happening across western democracies right now, and about the need to educate young men so that backlash doesn't become the next generation's normal. We discussed the intersection between gender and race. She was open about how never-ending it can feel. Battles thought won decades ago, sliding back out of reach again. What keeps her moving, she said, and what she hopes keeps the rest of us moving, is that people are still hungering for hope. Not despair. Hope. Someone in the room asked her how to keep going when the atmosphere you're working in is difficult and unrelenting. Her answer was simple. Remember what you're there for. Remember the end goal of your work. Write it down somewhere and keep it close by as a touchstone for the hard days. She also recommended keeping closely connected to the people working alongside you on the same cause, because that connection will keep you moving forward when purpose on its own isn't enough. Julia told us about [Muriel Matters](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muriel%5FMatters?ref=changeout.org), the most excellently-named Australian political activist and suffragist. The suffragists were the ones who broke away from the more peaceful suffragettes. Muriel and her fellow campaigner, Helen Fox, chained themselves to the iron grille at the front of the Ladies' Gallery in the House of Commons. That grille was there specifically so MPs wouldn't be distracted by the sight of a woman watching them work. When I was leaving Parliament, Just Stop Oil activists [were in Parliament Square protesting](https://www.standard.co.uk/news/london/just-stop-oil-parliament-protest-westminster-andy-burnham-pmqs-b1295512.html?ref=changeout.org) against climate change and particularly the prospect that the UK may start drilling for oil and gas again in the North Sea. When a protest angers or inconveniences other people, I always find myself asking what actually counts as the right kind of protesting. Muriel's chains looked outrageous to plenty of people in 1908\. In 2026, they look necessary. As usual, there isn't an easy answer but I was thinking that if you're a leader who flinches a little when a colleague won't let something go, a member of staff, a board member. If there's someone who keeps raising the same uncomfortable question long after everyone else has moved on, it might be worth asking you're whether they're right to keep at it. --- If you're interested in 1:1 coaching with me, either reply to this email or click this button [Coaching with Lucy](https://bit.ly/coachingwithlucywaitlist?ref=changeout.org) **What am I reading? 📚** After the heat we've had this year and the prospect of an ever hotter 2027, came [this week's UN assessment](https://www.unep.org/resources/limiting-overshoot-navigating-exceedance?ref=changeout.org) that global warming exceeding 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels is now unavoidable. Just Stop Oil's demands do seem like common sense. **What am I watching?** 👀 [Here's](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/crerw2nj81zo?ref=changeout.org) a happy story 🦅 **What am I listening to?👂** Shall we have another listen to Julia Gillard's Misogyny Speech? Oh go on then! [Here](https://www.nfsa.gov.au/collection/item/misogyny-speech-julia-gillard?ref=changeout.org) it is. **Joy-giving things 😍** I don't think I shared a picture of our beast of a sunflower. 10ft tall, almost as tall as the apple tree! ![a fleshy green leaved sunflower plant with several yellow flowers next to some smaller pink flowers and an apple tree ](https://storage.ghost.io/c/57/d9/57d97f92-56a7-4c97-8c12-ac77d809cbf1/content/images/2026/09/Screenshot-2026-09-04-at-10.01.39.png) Have a great weekend! Lucy --- *I've been writing regular blogs since 2020\. If you want to have a look at my back catalogue, they are all* [*here*](https://www.changeout.org/tag/blog/)*.* *If you're wondering whether coaching might help you think through where you are and where you're going next,* [*I'd love to hear from you*](https://bit.ly/coachingwithlucywaitlist?ref=changeout.org)*.* *You can also find me on* [*Instagram*](https://www.instagram.com/lucycaldicott?ref=changeout.org)*,* [*Threads*](https://www.threads.com/@lucycaldicott?ref=changeout.org)*, and* [*LinkedIn*](https://www.linkedin.com/in/lucycaldicott/?ref=changeout.org)*.* *🎬🎬🎬* [*YouTube*](https://www.youtube.com/@LucyOnLife?ref=changeout.org) *🎬🎬🎬* If you like what you read and you'd like to show your appreciation in cash, you can do that [here](https://ko-fi.com/changeout?ref=changeout.org). I'd be very grateful!