Female quotas on company boards

[ninwa]

THE Governor-General, Quentin Bryce, has advocated the introduction of quotas to ensure more women are appointed as directors on company boards.

In comments that could reignite claims she has crossed the line between her vice-regal role and politics, Ms Bryce said she believed affirmative action might be the only way to break the stranglehold of the ''old boys' network'' on Australian business.

How can women ever have equality in the workplace, when there are still so many barriers standing between men and equal opportunity in the home?

[Water]

Be damned with feminism, must be the biggest joke in history! Females are given just as much opportunity to rise to careers that are high standing. You don't need to be an idiot to realize that there are females like Julia Gallard, Penny Wong, Anna Bligh who are the leaders in the bureaucratic system.

If females who are carrying a child, have to look after their families, have kids to raise and cannot be concerned with their work, then what right do they have to make such boisterous demands for a job in the upper end. In the corporate world, those upper end jobs, require you to sell your soul, its 24/7, demanding, highly stressful and having females to fill up the quota will only be counter productive,waste of space and wasting the company's time.

You want the gain? You put in the pain.

[ninwa]

Not quite a quota: http://www.kateellis.fahcsia.gov.au/mediareleases/2011/Pages/ke_m_women_in_workplace_9march2011.aspx

[chrisjb]

http://www.theage.com.au/opinion/society-and-culture/why-women-arent-getting-it-in-the-boardroom-or-the-bedroom-20110308-1bmic.html
^Saw this in the age the other day and found it interesting.

I don't think that it's that big of a problem, everywhere in my life women have more or less had equality and I have never come across anyone that was seriosly sexist... But I have probably lived a very sheltered life and not come across the sexism that apparantly exists (which would probably be supported by that 89-11 figgure).
One thing's for sure though, I do think quotas are a bad idea. Even if it doesn't result in the destruction of meritocricys (is that the correct use of the term?) there would still be a sense of unfairness for some men who don't get high up jobs or a sense of belittlement for some women who do get high end jobs. But I can't think of any way of doing it properly...

[Eriny]

I'm an agnostic on quotas, but I think that part of the problem is that work considered to be 'women's work', such as nursing or teaching, is not particularly well regarded, in some sense socially (for instance, nurses are seen as subordinate to doctors and teachers are always denigrated both in politics and more generall) but also financially in the wages nurses and teachers are given. I can't help to think that women going into so-called 'men's industries' such as in big corporations and therefore kind of being 'like men'and thus successful is a very helpful way of looking at the problem. I think if a woman wants to go into business, she should and should be helped and encouraged. At the same time, I don't think we should look at women who aren't in male dominated industries as lesser and we should recognise that a lot of women are already very successful in a range of fields. What I'm saying is that women should not have to be 'like a man' in order for their various contributions to be seen as valuable.

http://www.theage.com.au/opinion/society-and-culture/why-women-arent-getting-it-in-the-boardroom-or-the-bedroom-20110308-1bmic.html
^Saw this in the age the other day and found it interesting.

I don't think that it's that big of a problem, everywhere in my life women have more or less had equality and I have never come across anyone that was seriosly sexist... But I have probably lived a very sheltered life and not come across the sexism that apparantly exists (which would probably be supported by that 89-11 figgure).
One thing's for sure though, I do think quotas are a bad idea. Even if it doesn't result in the destruction of meritocricys (is that the correct use of the term?) there would still be a sense of unfairness for some men who don't get high up jobs or a sense of belittlement for some women who do get high end jobs. But I can't think of any way of doing it properly...

It's true that affirmative action like this doesn't fulfill the requirements of a meritorcacy, but I'm not sure if a meritocracy exists anyway. If there are factors impeding on women's success in business, independent of whether or not they are working very hard, and there are, then you probably couldn't say that things work currently to give the best people the jobs they deserve.

Be damned with feminism, must be the biggest joke in history! Females are given just as much opportunity to rise to careers that are high standing. You don't need to be an idiot to realize that there are females like Julia Gallard, Penny Wong, Anna Bligh who are the leaders in the bureaucratic system.

If females who are carrying a child, have to look after their families, have kids to raise and cannot be concerned with their work, then what right do they have to make such boisterous demands for a job in the upper end. In the corporate world, those upper end jobs, require you to sell your soul, its 24/7, demanding, highly stressful and having females to fill up the quota will only be counter productive,waste of space and wasting the company's time.

You want the gain? You put in the pain.

Is this post actually a joke? I suspect it might be. But in case it isn't, whether or not men work 21 hours a day, they get a family because someone is at home birthing those children. They don't have to choose between work and family, they get both. Women always have to choose, they can't get both. And you think raising a family is a luxury? That's a 24 hour a day job right there.

[chrisjb]

females like Julia Gallard, Penny Wong, Anna Bligh who are the leaders in the bureaucratic system.

Your choice of women leaders:
1. 33 percent approval rating
2. Had to sell out her ideals of gay marraige to keep her job.
3. Took the biggest cyclone in a century to save her job.

Should've just gone with the chick who does the 7.30 report nowadays... or Julie Bishop. She's still kicking away.

[Water]

females like Julia Gallard, Penny Wong, Anna Bligh who are the leaders in the bureaucratic system.

Your choice of women leaders:
1. 33 percent approval rating
2. Had to sell out her ideals of gay marraige to keep her job.
3. Took the biggest cyclone in a century to save her job.

Should've just gone with the chick who does the 7.30 report nowadays... or Julie Bishop. She's still kicking away.

While your at it, CEO of Westpac, is a chick

[ninwa]

out of how many male bank heads?

[MuggedByReality]

   Just saw that this was discussed on the BBC Radio program The Moral Maze (in which the 4 panelists cross-examine guests who are particularly relevant to the issue.)
     http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Uqa0ygqqJQ
     http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ipV-3h8hkR0