Hillary Clinton praises female world leaders Merkel, Gillard

NEW YORK, June 16 (UPI) -- In two separate interviews, Hillary Clinton praised the ascent of world female leaders, notably German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Australian former Prime Minister Julia Gillard.

Clinton is promoting her new book, Hard Choices.

Speaking to the German magazine Stern, which published excerpts of an interview Monday, Clinton said:

"Of course I want the U.S.A. to have a woman leader soon as well and I will do all I can for that to happen, though I don't know yet if it will be me. We are way behind you in Germany on this."

She later spoke to the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, noting she wrote in the book that Gillard faced "outrageous sexism" in her political career.

The book mentions examples of perceived sexism Clinton faced when she ran for president in 2008. "As to the sexism that surfaced during the campaign, I knew that it arose from cultural and psychological attitudes about women's roles in society, but that didn't make it any easier for me and my supporters," she wrote.

Prior to the book's launch, Clinton told ABC News, "When you're in the spotlight as a woman, you know you're being judged constantly. It is just never-ending."