In the next few weeks there is likely to be a Ministerial Reshuffle (Conservative Home believe it won't be at cabinet level) and Cameron will start to deliver on his promise to have a third of all ministers, including those at a Cabinet level, as women. Women, will be the winners, not talent.
This is in keeping with the European trend of quotas (formal/legal or informal/public declarations) including in France and Spain. Currently, there are 48 (165) MP's out of 304 MP's in total.
The issue has been talked about for weeks in the media and the issues are three fold.
Firstly, just like the issue on boardroom quota's - meritocracy is the biggest loser which goes against the whole principle of 'the best person for the job' - irrelevant of gender.
- Some talented men will be denied a position a Minister solely because they are a man (this was the same as revealed in this report about the Conservative Party's gender quota A-list).
- Some women will remain as ministers or in the cabinet (as revealed by Daily Mirror) even if they are not good enough because to lose female ministers means Cameron will fear a backlash (and he will get one as he did last year).
- Some women will be promoted into being a Minister when they are not good enough.
Any decision based on a quota or gender target is sexist - if a talented man does not get into the cabinet or becomes a Minister because he has to be overlooked to ensure enough women are in place, then he is a victim of sexism. And like so many supine politicians, he will sit there and be quiet.
Why would be Conservative men moan about gender quotas when they say nothing about boardroom quotas or men and boys issues in general.
Further to all of this, if there are not enough women being promoted then modern-day radical feminists will be whining and shouting all over the airwaves with their hatred for men and disdain for equality and meritocracy.
Will anyone in the media have the balls to confront them and ask them why politicians should not be chosen on merit, whether they agree that an inferior women should be promoted over a better man and whether they can actually pinpoint any examples of a talented women who is not a Minister and an untalented man who is. Don't them talk about numbers, they must talk about individuals - as that is the important point.
Lastly, the British public as part of the democratic process should be governed by the best people for the job. If that meant all women - so be it - but they want the best people, that is what they vote for. Why should the people that govern us be chosen because of the gender not their ability? We need the best people that is what we vote for.
This summer's reshuffle will be the most sexist on record. The most sexist against men.
Posted by Skimmington
PS Conservative women wnat special treatment because like most politicians they are only in it for themselves.
Skimmington, Thanks for covering this. We recently did a post on it (link below) - showing that (given the proportions of male and female MPs) women are already OVER-represented in the cabinet, and the reshuffle will extend that over-representation yet further. Not one media outlet, to the best of our knowledge, has pointed this out (the maths on this issue took about one minute to calculate). Classic Cameron:
http://j4mb.wordpress.com/2013/07/23/david-cameron-is-about-to-increase-womens-over-representation-in-the-cabinet/
Posted by: Mike Buchanan | Sunday, 28 July 2013 at 21:02