The Spinoff on Judith

An interesting interview in The Spinoff with Judith Collins. One extract:

Judith Collins says there is a gulf between the way she is received and the response to prime minister Jacinda Ardern.

“I think that the way in which the centre right women are treated is entirely different from centre left women,” she says. Collins puts it down to “the view in which people see that women should be on the softer, caring side – not understanding where money comes from. 

“Well, yeah I do understand where money comes from. It comes from hard work, and other people’s often. I will not manage myself to conform to a view of women that we all need to be soft and cuddly.”

Her career backs up that self-assessment. Before she became an MP she was a lawyer, working across the commercial and tax fields, each still male-dominated, even more so when she entered them in the early 80s. Later, in government, Collins sought out portfolios – corrections, police, energy, revenue – which have seen her commanding areas of the state where the workforce is largely male. 

Her whole working life has existed in spaces designed for men, and some colleagues believe her ability to command those spaces is part of what makes her such a polarising figure. 

I think there is a lot of truth to this.