Harriet Harman has said that she would like the new Labour shadow cabinet to be compiled of a 50-50 split of men and women. I'm really not sure how I feel about this. While I am all for female empowerment and I believe that our lack of female MPs is a problem that needs addressing, I am fairly sure that strict quotas and restrictions are not the way to address it. If people think a woman is in power simply because she is a woman, it seems to discredit all the hard work she did to get there, doesn't it? Equally, if a man is better suited, more experienced, should a woman really be chosen over him? Nevertheless, our current Government seem to be little more than a clique of obnoxious Etonians born with a silver spoon in their mouth, who are supposed to understand and improve the plight of the working man. Something's gone wrong, hasn't it?
When faced with difficult times, our nation's knee-jerk reaction can be summed up in one word; regression. So maybe something drastic does need to be done, not only to bring more women into the picture, but also to radicalise our country, held back by war and the parasitic recession. Britain, while once progressive seems to be lagging behind; trapped by ceremony and overly aggressive politicians whose priorities are unclear and whose actions are far too motivated by a fear of upsetting the media. While other European countries are storming ahead, electing a much higher proportion of female MPs, it seems that in order to succeed in British Politics, a woman must become formidable and rigid; ridding herself of that vulnerable femininity in order to compete with her male counterparts. Many Asian countries have seen a spate of female leaders but liberal, forward-thinking Britain is drowning in patriarchy and really something should be done...
No comments:
Post a Comment