Kevin Rudd appeals to more women than first female and former prime minister Julia Gillard. It is a significant finding that questions the effectiveness of the gender war brought by Ms Gillard.

Since Kevin Rudd's return as prime minister of Australia last month, the number of women who supports the Australian Labor Party has soared to 38 per cent, up 4 points. Rudd gains the approval of more women over the way he does his job as prime minister compared to ms Gillard.

Many women apparently believe Kevin Rudd would be a better prime minister than Opposition Leader Tony Abbott.

However, women are not as disapproving of Abbott as what some news commentators have claimed. A deeper analysis of Newspoll surveys would reveal the Coalition still has a small two-point lead in terms of support from women with 40 per cent compared to the Australian Labor Party's 38 per cent.

When Gillard was still prime minister, she placed gender as the focus of her political attack in October 2012 when she berated Tony Abbott for misogyny and sexism in Parliament.

Gillard's former communications director, John McTernan blames her ouster from the party and the prime ministerial office on "negative, corrosive, anti-woman rhetoric". McTernan claimed the first female prime minister of Australia "faced serial abuse as a woman".

Despite Gillard's emphasis on sexism and misogyny in Parliament, Newspoll surveys show that women are not dismayed to her leave politics. Early in 2012, women who supported the Labor party fell to as low as 31 per cent.

The comeback of Kevin Rudd has lifted that number to the same figure when Gillard assumed the position as the first female prime minister of Australia in 2010.

The number of women who said they were not satisfied with the Prime Minister has dropped to 37 per cent from 56 per cent. Aside from increasing female support, Rudd also gained a strong lead against Opposition Leader Tony Abbot as the preferred prime minister. Rudd's lead over Abbott is 21 points, making him ahead at 51 per cent compared to Abbott's 30 per cent.

In Julia Gillard's time, she had a narrow lead of 40 per cent to the opposition's 36 per cent.

Formerly uncommitted women voters were apparently moved by Rudd's return. The undecided voters fell from 24 per cent to 19 per cent. The Newspoll surveys only show Rudd still has appeal to women despite the national ad published by a women's rights group in protest of the way Julia Gillard was treated and removed from her post.

RELATED STORIES