ABC political talk show, Q and A, this week touched on the topic of females in executive positions, or lack thereof.
Westpac CEO, Gail Kelly, was asked why this is the case especially given the equality of educational opportunities in Australia. She answered with rhetoric about the problems with corporate organisation. The focus was purely on numbers.
The real answer is much simpler. That is, given all the opportunities under the sun the majority of women want to get married and have children. This requires a level of career sacrifice. The majority of women are content with their decision. Janet Albrechtsen was the only one on the panel to point out this unspoken fact. How refreshing it was to hear a woman talk ill of feminism.
Unfortunately though it is the feminist minority that are outspoken on the issue and are aghast at such numbers when they become public.
Anything other than merit-based appointments is pure tokenism.
Westpac CEO, Gail Kelly, was asked why this is the case especially given the equality of educational opportunities in Australia. She answered with rhetoric about the problems with corporate organisation. The focus was purely on numbers.
The real answer is much simpler. That is, given all the opportunities under the sun the majority of women want to get married and have children. This requires a level of career sacrifice. The majority of women are content with their decision. Janet Albrechtsen was the only one on the panel to point out this unspoken fact. How refreshing it was to hear a woman talk ill of feminism.
Unfortunately though it is the feminist minority that are outspoken on the issue and are aghast at such numbers when they become public.
Anything other than merit-based appointments is pure tokenism.
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2 comments:
Ohhh, but we don't want to conform to the way we're built! We want to deny it as much as possible. After all, we didn't think of our construction ourselves, did we? That means its flawed, because it's made by a male Person.
Puh-leeze. If you want to play with the big boys you've got to fit in with the big boys. That means if you're a woman, you usually have to shelf your femininity to survive in a decidedly masculine paradigm. Masculine is not bad, women! Masculine means direct, get the job done, filter out the subjectivity. In corporations this can all be very handy!
Tim
You pose an interesting point of view on a topic that hits home for many women and men alike. I have participated in many discussions on this topic, I have read many different articles and I am a female in the workplace. In responding to your thoughts, I see that there are three different issues that we need to tackle.
Firstly, let’s look at the numbers. Some women are fortunate enough to have the opportunity to have a family, a career and/or both if they choose. Using basic mathematics, if women choose the family option, there is likely to be less women who want senior roles. It is therefore reasonable to expect that the number of females in the senior positions is going to be lower. As with most numbers, they are only tell part of the story. We need to consider all factors before jumping to any conclusion.
Secondly, we need to recognise that males & females are biologically different and do offer different skills and qualities in a workplace. If you look at any board or steering group, the most effective groups tend to be ones with a variety of perspectives – i.e. experience, expertise, race, religion etc. Being male or female is just another perspective. Variety is the spice of life – is it not!? It just so happens that gender is one of the easier things to calculate & analyse looking at those who fill senior roles. By way of a comparison, I’m sure that a minority group such as a Christians offer a different perspective in a workplace. It is, however, harder to measure and analyse the number of Christians in senior positions.
The third consideration is whether there are actually any barriers for women who choose to pursue a career which stops them from obtaining the senior positions. I consider myself fortunate having entered the workforce in the last decade where the fact that I am female has never stopped or impeded my chance of pursuing work opportunities. Unfortunately, it has not always been like this. Having spoken with a few senior professional females who first entered the workforce 20-30 years ago, they have had to struggle with old school ideals where, for example, the only contribution they could make to a meeting was “coffee with one”. As anyone in a minority group who has been prejudiced in the work place, they have had to work hard to change workplace perceptions, one person at a time. I’m thankful that they have done many of the hard yards for women today. The unfortunate thing is that the challenge is not over yet. Women in senior positions is just one of many minorities. Whether it is gender, religion, race etc, every workplace has biases which we don’t even realise. This is something we all have to consider and work on, every day, for the rest of our lives.
In addition to the above I have a couple of other quick comments:
* I agree with Janet’s comment in general, but just because she said that most women are content with the decisions they have made, that does not mean that she speaks ill of feminism. Although I would not consider myself a feminist, as I am not actively involved in movements pushing the agenda of women in the workplace, does the fact that I am a women in the workplace, who hasn’t had the opportunity for a family and has pursued a career by default, make me a feminist?
• I guess just as I recognise the many movements over the world focusing on agendas for minority groups, whether it be religion or racial based, I think it is important to recognise that the feminist movement has played an important role in helping breaking some of the barriers for some females to achieve the objectives. Movements are not always good, but they are not always bad either. They have had a part to play in change.
• As a side to respond to one of Meaghan’s points, I have never had to shelve my femininity to play with the big boys in the workplace. :)
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