SEXIST, unfair and unrelenting.
That's how Greens leader Bob Brown described the criticism of Prime Minister Julia Gillard this week as the government lurched from one crisis to another conundrum.
He reckons the PM is getting beat up by the old boys press club, the shock jocks, the beer-swilling, cigarette-smoking lot who are extremely influential in determining opinion across the media environment.
He's right, Julia Gillard is getting beat up but is it because she is a female, as Mr Brown inferred, or is it just because she isn't doing a great job.
Analysing the comparative success of Ms Gillard's Prime Ministership is intriguing. Here we have a person who was not elected into the position by the public and a leader whose party holds onto power by a thread — making even simple legislation tiresomely difficult to implement.
Under these circumstances she will implement the most divisive reform since the GST — the carbon tax, she has remained steadfast in her purpose to impose a mining tax and has presided over significant wins in education and health all amid difficult financial circumstances.
Many of the policy decisions during Ms Gillard's reign have been highly unpopular — she remains well behind former PM Kevin Rudd as preferred leader in most opinion polls — and the media scrutiny as such has been intense.
Alternatively, the Prime Minister has been accused of breaking a promise on the carbon tax, of breaking a promise to independent Andrew Wilkie on gaming reform, of failing to inspire through a lacklustre address at her own party's national conference and of being generally disingenuous.
It is these points which have been poured over in much of the popular Australian media — from the major newspaper columnists to the morning radio presenters — who are male in the majority.
Yes, the scrutiny and clear displeasure has been evident but would it be any different if Kevin Rudd had made the same decisions?
Are commentators going a little bit harder because the prime minister is female?
Publicly, Ms Gillard has been strong in defying her critics, complaining rarely and, at least on the surface, maintaining her composure.
Woman or not, the office of prime minister is not for the faint-hearted and criticism is always very public and very pointed.
If the suggestion is that her gender might imply a certain weakness, in this case the attack is misguided.
The signs that we accept women as political and community leaders are around us everywhere.
In Ballarat we have female state and federal members and women lead many of our biggest and brightest companies and organisations.
It is true that the contribution and achievements of women is often remarked upon in the context of the barriers they have broken down and possibly this is why criticisms are assessed in the same light.
It's clear that not everyone has moved with the times, including some in the media.
But to think much of the criticism of the prime minister has been based upon a bias based on sex is surely not accurate.
What do you think?
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