MARXIST-inspired feminism, the butt of many a joke and TV comedy send up for the past couple of decades, seemed to be dying a natural death. But feminism is not only back in fashion, it is, ironically, being actively enforced by Australia’s “corporate/capitalist elite”. A case in point is the Australian Institute of Company Directors (AICD).
The AICD has ramped up its "gender diversity" program, with its chairman, Rick Lee, seemingly distressed after a survey by the AICD found there were too few women CEOs and "female chairs" in the top 200 Australian companies. But it's not only the AIDC that has jumped on the bandwagon of global political correctness, so has the Business Council of Australia, the Australian Stock Exchange and BHP Billiton.
One would think that Rick Lee, the chairman of Salmat and a non-executive director of Newcrest Mining, would know something about old fashioned free enterprise and entrepreneurialism. No, it seems Mr Lee prefers the role of politically correct bureaucrat to that of hard-knuckled entrepreneur. His role seems barely distinguishable from the bureaucrats who run government departments and enforce, as a matter of policy, the UN global "diversity/biodiversity" agenda.
On ABC Radio National with Fran Kelly on October 6th, Lee was confronted with his own apparently distressing statistics, gathered by the AICD, showing there were "only six women CEOs” in the top 200 companies and "only five female chairs” of company boards. So what’s the problem Mr Lee and Ms Kelly? Do you think large numbers of Australians actually care whether the ratio of male to female CEOs is high or low? In teaching and nursing it seems to be the opposite.
Maybe such statistics just show that a lot of women don’t want to be CEOs or “female chairs”. Maybe, Mr Lee and Ms Kelly (who openly shared Mr Lee's concerns), those statistics just reflect reality? Should we have a problem with reality? That indeed seems to be the case. Was it Karl Rove, the Republican Party spin doctor extraordinaire, who said his role was to create reality? Or are we witnessing game theory, a particularly smart but diabolical form of social engineering practiced by the Rand Corporation?
Meanwhile Mr Lee, in an act of Marxist self-criticism, offered more compensation for the guilt of the damning statistics uncovered by his institute. Yes Commissar, the “global diversity” agenda was now being enforced by his friends in the ASX Corporate Governance Council. They intend to bring in a “requirement” that companies “report on diversity in their policies and move towards having measurable targets”.
The on-air encounter between Mr Lee and Ms Kelly raised visions of an old-style, middle rank Soviet bureaucrat groveling before a chief commissar. Keen to please the Commissar, Mr Lee went on to offer that he and his fellow corporate bureaucrats had started “a mentoring program for our women members”. Commissar seemed somewhat pleased. And yes, enforced diversity was also supported by Mr Lee's friends in the Business Council of Australia, who not only follow gender diversity but biodiversity too - as proven by their for a “price on carbon” – or should that read global environmental tax.
But the groveling self-criticism didn't stop there. Mr Lee further volunteered before "Commissar Kelly" that all company board agendas would now have diversity as “action items”! Yes, women board members and CEOs were hard to find! As such, boards would even look to “non-traditional” sources for women members. Might one now presume that Mr Lee will now be actively seeking out lesbians of ethnic minority status to fill CEO seats? Would that finally fulfill the politically correct ideology in the new global Marxist world of business? Perhaps ex-environment come Finance Minister Penny Wong, the AICD's next guest speaker, will fit the bill?
But will there be no apologies from Mr Lee and the ASX for pushing aside and
discriminating against more qualified males in order to hire women to fill the “diversity quotas”. Self-contradiction and double-think at work again shaping the totalitarian agenda.
What is it that prevents otherwise well educated people like Rick Lee, Fran Kelly, ASX, AICD and Business Council of Australia members from understanding that enforced “gender equality and diversity” is essentially a totalitarian, social engineering program? None of them, unlike the fiery former chief of Western Mining, Hugh Morgan, appear to have the courage to question the philosophical pedigree of "gender diversity", "biodiversity" and the like. One has to wonder what benefits companies like Newcrest Mining will reap from that handmaiden of feminism, environmentalism. UN Agenda 21 is a chilling example of how these ideologies are being prepared for global adoption. Do they seriously really believe that "diversity/biodiversity" and trading carbon futures will save the planet?
Again, did it occur to Mr Lee and Ms Kelly that perhaps a lot of women simply don’t aspire to be CEOs or managers? Might it be social reality that most women prefer the job of running households and raising children – probably the most important (and most underpaid) job in the world?
While no sane Australian political or corporate leader would admit to hating motherhood and family life, the ideology of Marxist feminism does in fact denigrate such values. The feminists insist that the state is the ultimate nurturer and owner of children. The corporate sector has proven it is only too keen to fill this role on behalf of government and according to its strict regulations.
The environmental side of this "new order" is revealed by the antics of another corporate bureaucrat who has apparently sold out to the global socialist agenda – Marius Kloppers, CEO of BHP Billiton, who recently called for a “price on carbon”.
It seems KloppersKloppers just wants to assuage his guilt for being involved in the coal industry? After all, a price on carbon means BHP Billiton can flog its carbon credits to the likes of Goldman Sachs and their futures market based on air. Pity about the plummeting price of carbon - perhaps reality is finally sinking in.
It must now be asked, is there a lone voice of dissent among the high-powered members of the Australian Institute of Company Directors? (see below) We wait with bated breath, but we won't wait too long.
http://www.company directors.com.au/Representation/Committees/Chairmans+Forum.htm
Mr Don Argus AO FAICD
Ms Elizabeth Bryan FAICD Chairman, Caltex Australia Limited
Mr Michael Chaney AO FAICD Chairman, National Australia Bank Limited / Woodside Petroleum Limited
Mr John Colvin FAICD CEO and MD, Australian Institute of Company Directors
Mr David Crawford FAICD Chairman, Foster's Group Ltd / Lend Lease Corporation Limited
Mr Ted Evans AC Chairman, Westpac Banking Corporation Limited
Mr David Gonski AC FAICD Chairman, ASX Limited / Coca-Cola Amatil Limited
Mr Mark Johnson Chairman, AGL Energy Limited
Mr Rick Lee FAICD Chairman, Salmat Limited / Australian Institute of Company Directors
Ms Catherine Livingstone AO Chairman, Telstra Corporation Limited
Mr Peter Mason AM FAICD Chairman, AMP Limited
Mr John Morschel FAICD Chairman, Australian and New Zealand Banking Group Limited
Dr John Schubert FAICD Non-executive director of BHP Billiton Limited and QANTAS Airways Limited
Mr John Story FAICD Chairman, Suncorp-Metway Limited / Tabcorp Holdings Limited
Mr James Strong AO FAICD Chairman, Insurance Australia Group Limited / Woolworths Limited