Ms Gillard in 2012 delivered a now-famous anti-misogyny speech on the floor of federal parliament, taking stinging aim at then-opposition leader Tony Abbott.

This Wednesday marks a decade since Ms Gillard toppled Kevin Rudd as Labor leader to become Australia's first female PM.

"I knew that speech had landed with force in the parliament," Ms Gillard said on Sunday during an interview with former party colleague Tanya Plibersek for EMILY's List, a not-for-profit supporting progressive Labor women.

Ms Gillard said she didn't have a sense of the broader impact of her words until Treasurer Wayne Swan had a quiet chat with her afterwards.

"That conversation was the first penny dropping that this perhaps was going to speak more loudly than the parliamentary chamber that day."

Ms Gillard hopes her trailblazing has made it easer for the country's next female PM.

"Hopefully she'll face less of a gendered reaction but to the extent that she does it should be called out early. I think I didn't call it out early enough," Ms Gillard said.

"And she shouldn't necessarily take all the burden on her own shoulders of calling it out.

"As a political party, as an Australian community, we should be calling it out for her."

Ms Gillard revealed she agonised over her November 2012 decision to announce a royal commission into institutionalised child sex abuse.

"I very much wanted to see that hurt and trauma addressed," she said.

"But I was also very anxious that if you call a big judicial thing like a royal commission, it ends up being people who are judge-like sitting on benches in very formalised proceedings.

"I was worried that it would create more trauma.

The Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse received more than 42,000 calls, resulted in creation of the National Redress Scheme and the delivery of national apology by Scott Morrison two years ago.

Ms Gillard said she was overwhelmed by the support from abuse survivors who shared their stories.

"Many had doors slammed in their face for years," she added.

"It enabled people to come forward knowing that it wasn't just them. Many of those individuals would have suffered in silence."

Australian Associated Press