Last week the BBC obtained a Government leak highlighting what Government department and quangos were for the chop in the coming Comprehensive Spending Review. In itself it is a fascinating list but it is worthwhile as ever to look a bit closer.
Page 11 shows that the Women's National Commission is to be abolished and its functions brought into the perversely named, Government Equalities Office (a body that costs UK taxpayers a whopping £69 million per year). Perversely, in that, it has no interest in the equal rights of men who make up 49% of the British population.
Set up in 1969 it says it provides a unique and independent voice working on women's equality with a specvial role to fulfil and an important remit with the UK's equality framework. As a non-departmental public body it is funded by the taxpayer (£661,000 - see last answer) but can speak freely. The home of their site shows arch-feminist Baroness Gould plead with the Government not to scrap it.
That would be equality of course because there is no Men's National Commission being funded by the taxpayer and supported by a Government Department. It will go underground, the work will continue but not in the open.
However, the body's functions will be transferred remember so do not get out the bunting quite yet.
Another interesting aside is that the infamous women's rights anti-male charity, the Fawcett Society, has not issued one missive or press release crying about the proposal. Why so, when if anyone suggests anything that could potentially have a negative effect on a woman, this August organisation is 'manning' the barricades and issuing press releases and missives all over the airwaves. Could it be that of the Women's National Commission is scrapped they can lay their hands on the title of being the UK's leading organisation giving voice to women. Of course it is, they have seen a vacuum and want to take the Commission's place. That's why there is silence. They cannot fool us!
On the same list obtained by the BBC, the fate of the other perversely named Equalities and Human Rights Commission has yet to be decided. Costing £60 million per year (2008/09), this organisation which combines the former Disabled, Race and Equal Opportunities Commissionsdoes nothing to support men. All of its campaigns on gender are about women (even on the recent Budget when it complained it would hit women - but no mention of how the recession in the private sector hit men the hardest) and is another public body guilty of sexual discrimination against by omission.
Every gender issue is always about men having power over women and making their lives a misery. There is never a study onto boys education, the lack of monies for male cancers, suicide rates, domestic violence (they told the ManKind Initiative to bugger off) or even the family courts (the Ministry of Justice admit men and grandparents think their is a problem yet the Equalities Commission you nothing, not even a squeak).
It forgets men (and boys) exist even though it believes we are equal. We have run so many stories about their inadequacy they have their own content list and were slammed by a Select Committee earlier this year. It could have been a useful organisation but it does not care about men.
While it is welcome news that the WNC is going and would be great if the Equalities Commission went for a Burton, there remains the concern that there would still remain a Government Equlaities Office.
It says that it employs 100 people and that it 'takes a lead on issues relating to women, sexual orientation and transgender equalities matters.' Read it again.
The Governments's Equalities Office does not believe that equality covers men as well. To make matters worse, this is not something that has been investigated it is there proud as punch on the home page of their website (only one of the six people featured on its home page is a male).
The hypocrisy continues as it's board of ten only has three men, it employs 65% women and it has a gender pay gap of -7.7%. This is no typo, because women are paid on average 7.7% more than men in the department it is classed as a negative pay gap because to them all pay gaps are about men being paid more than women. Classic Orwell.
There is no point in closing the Women's National Commission and the Equailities and Human Rights Commission if the Government's Equalities Office is not scrapped either. It is as anti-male as the other two bodies and none have an interest in applying the concept of equality to men.
Go on Osborne and the Coalition, if you truly believe in equality you will scarp all three. That would be equality in its truest sense.
Posted by Skimmington
Very well said. The EHRC has completely failed disabled people and ignores obvious issues of discrimination in favour of a very narrow agenda. However it does get criticised. The fawcett soc can say what it likes so long as it doesn't get public money. Much more pernicious is the gov Equalities office. Well connected to the whithall machine and half hidden from scrutiny this is the most dangerous.
Posted by: Groan | Thursday, 30 September 2010 at 21:01