A Woman’s Work Is Never Done
Prior to the election I read a host of articles on why we need more women in politics.
Janet Street Porter writing for The Mail last week claimed "the only high-profile women in this election are the leaders' wives - and it doesn't get more depressing than that." I concur.
Yesterday, Britain's spanking new cabinet was revealed and it would appear Theresa May has not only been handed the important role of Home Secretary but is one of only two women to gain senior roles in the new coalition cabinet.
Almost immediately journalists and Twitter have turned on May. My favourite tweet so far: "Theresa May as Minister for Equality is like Cruella De Vil being head of the RSPCA" - and a Telegraph piece I came across demeans the role and questions her experience.
Don't get me wrong, I am not a huge fan and can see the irony of her other new role as Minister for Equality, given her previous voting record on gay rights.
So either I am playing devil's advocate - or I am desperately seeking a topical hook to link to my key point, which is that the press love nothing more than a female to hate.
Thatcher, Harman, Widdecombe, Kelly, Smith: Either the murky world of politics attracts the very worst strain of female scum-bag OR the media are all too ready to paint a damaging picture of female politicians. There is probably more than an element of truth in both those statements.
But we are hated far beyond the political arena...Posh, Katona, Goody, Price, Kaplinsky, Phillips, Mills, Feltz, Anderton....I could go on.
What exactly do we want to punish these women for? For being slightly dull and materialistic? (Posh) For having a drug addiction? (Katona/Anderton) For being a bit loud-mouthed and prone to stripping? (Goody/Price) for just being a little bit annoying? (Kaplinsky/Phillips) For divorcing a national treasure? (Mills) For having a weight problem? (Feltz). Most women I know in real-life possess some of these characteristics.
How do high-profile women achieve national treasure status? It's pretty difficult to come by, but not entirely unachievable.
Death did wonders for Jade Goody's image. It also worked for Diana, but she had the added benefit of having been dumped whilst also being actively involved in charity work. A triple whammy. Partial nudity can also help - but preferably in a non-hooker-esque way. Kylie = Good. Titmuss = Bad. Oh, and never cheat. Men can feasibly cheat and remain loved (Beckham) but NEVER women (Perroncel).
All sounding a bit sexist? Why do the UK press continue to re-inforce these regressive female sterotypes?
I've located a study that reveals in 2006 only 38% of journalists in the UK were women and the gender pay gap in the industry was over 20 per cent.
And a glance at UK national newspapers and their editors shows how few women have influence at editorial level.
Sun - Editor - Dominic Mohan
Daily Mirror - Editor - Richard Wallace
Daily Express - Editor - Peter Hill
Daily Mail - Editor - Paul Dacre
Telegraph - Editor - Tony Gallagher
Guardian - Editor - Alan Rusbridger
Standard - Editor - Geordie Greig
Sunday Telegraph - Editor - Ian MacGregor
The Independent - Editor - Roger Alton
Sunday Independent - Editor - John Mullin
News of the World - Editor - Colin Myler
Sunday Express - Editor - Martin Townsend
Daily Star - Editor - Dawn Neesom
Sunday Mirror - Editor - Tina Weaver
Times - Editor - James Harding
Sunday Times - Editor - John Witherow
Written by Harriet Crosse
72Point Blog
72 Point are national news PR & survey specialists. Achieving daily print & online news exposure for the UK’s largest brands and PR agencies.
May 14th, 2010 - 15:05
Interesting. Women in politics are either sent out to the sticks to fight for unwinnable seats or ignored in the first place. And at this rate it will take 50 years to achieve parity with men in the house of commons. Even more interesting is how many women hold senior board positions in banks, financial institutions and the city in general. Answer? NONE.
And the discrepancy in pay (still running somewhere around 16%) is the equivalent of men being paid all year round and women working for free from the end of October.
We are 65% of the work force and we need to FIGHT BACK! Any suggestions as to how?