Why should a philosopher of public apology pay attention to gender? In this paper, I present a two-part argument for ‘gendering’ normative theories of public apology. First, I show that gender is deeply implicated in significant harms for which public apologies are demanded. Second, I argue there are multiple connections between gender and practices of public apology, connections that become evident once we consider apologies as public narratives, performed in public spaces and expressive of public responsibility.