Foreign minister tells magazine women should ‘stop whingeing, get on with it and prove them all wrong’

Julie Bishop has plenty of labels already: foreign affairs minister, deputy Liberal leader, sole female cabinet member. Now she has another. Harper’s Bazaar has named her Australia’s woman of the year.

Bishop, who is in China for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) meeting, features in a black-and-white photo spread in the magazine, which honours her political career and the work she is doing on the international stage as foreign affairs minister.

But it’s the label she’s refusing, that of feminist, that’s drawing the most fire.

Last month Bishop eschewed the term, saying it no longer has currency.

In the interview with Harper’s Bazaar, she warns women against complaining about being a woman, saying “stop whingeing, get on with it and prove them all wrong”.

The comment is aimed squarely at a former prime minister, Julia Gillard, whose speech in parliament accusing Tony Abbott of misogyny went viral. Bishop denies that Gillard was a victim of sexism, saying instead that she “trashed” the goodwill of the people who elected her.

“Please do not let it get to you and do not become a victim, because it’s only a downward spiral once you’ve cast yourself as a victim,” Bishop told the fashion magazine.

The Women’s Electoral Lobby has broadly welcomed Bishop’s accolade, saying it is “always great to see women in leadership roles” being recognised for their work. But Melanie Fernandez, from the NSW branch of the lobby, said women politicians such as Bishop “must advance the rights of women with their policies”.

“The fact that she doesn’t consider herself a feminist is pretty concerning at a time when women are dealing with issues like the largest gender pay gap in years,” Fernandez said.

The latest Fairfax Ipsos poll sees Bishop’s approval rating on par with Abbott’s, at 20%.

Bishop is happy in her current job, but does not rule out leadership ambitions entirely.

“I’m just part of the team. We have a leader who is doing an outstanding job as prime minister and I’m privileged to be in the role of foreign minister representing this country on a world stage. It’s an honour I’m conscious of every single day, but I’m very much part of our team, and looking forward to remaining so for a long time to come,” Bishop told Sky News on Saturday.

“As I’ve said on many occasions, this was my dream job and I feel so privileged to be able to be Australia’s foreign minister. I can assure you, this is the job I came into politics for.”