Equality - women at the forefront

I really am becoming quite tired of the continued talk about women and their place at the top and I feel that, as a woman, I am entitled to have my say on the subject.

Whilst the debate over how many women there are in parliament, in the cabinet, or on company boards in key influential positions continues no one appears to consider one key factor; perhaps they just don’t want to be there.

The same also applies to ethnic minorities and many other groups in our society, where there seems to be a relentless push towards making us all into martyrs in the cause for political correctness.

You would be hard pushed to find a less politically correct person than me, but I am currently undertaking an ‘Equality and Diversity’ qualification, for not much more than the reason that it was offered for free, and it seemed like a good idea at the time.

The point is, I believe that you cannot bully people into changing their opinions, you can only open their minds through education and exposure to differing sets of circumstances in order to gain their understanding.

For example, take all women short lists for party selection committees. The only thing that should matter in a situation such as this is that the person chosen is the best candidate for the job in terms of the personal characteristics necessary to perform the role. Those making the selection should only take into account evidence of qualifications, skills and knowledge in relation to the criteria. Between two candidates that are considered equally suitable, which is a relatively rare occurrence, then, and only then perhaps other factors should come in to play. If I happened to be male in this situation, and not selected on equal terms, then I would feel entitled to object on grounds of discrimination.

In applying positive discrimination, by its very nature you are discriminating against the other party involved.

I have been in the fortunate position of a being a ‘female first’ in a number of situations but I would be mortified to think that in being selected it was on the basis that I was female, rather than that I was the best person for the job at that time.

A similar situation arose recently at a Licensing Committee meeting at SSDC in relation to the provision of taxis suitable for disabled passengers. Yes of course disabled people should be able to have equal access to transport but is it realistic, or right, to expect all taxis to be converted at great cost in order to comply? I think not, and groups representing disabled people felt the same. Any desire for change has to be in direct proportion to the problem.

What is not acceptable is where those in a position of power use that level of authority to exclude certain groups from their inner circle; but to be honest, I wouldn’t want to be part of any organisation where I was not welcomed on equal terms.