Things have rightly changed now as we seek gender equality, but I would still want to find the most suitable person to fill a vacancy. I wouldn’t want to be told that I could only employ a man, or woman, to comply with quotas. However, that is increasingly happening now.
The Financial Conduct Authority for the City of London is telling public companies that 40% of board members should be women. Companies which don’t meet that target will need to explain why. It’s true that the industry is still known as 'very male and white', but if that is to change women must put themselves forward and show themselves as good, or even better, than the men. In fact, 34% of board members in the FTSE 350 are women, but if they don’t apply for the posts they can’t be considered. If they do apply, the choice should then be on merit, not gender.
Political parties have at times tried all-female shortlists for candidates, so as to raise the number of women MPs. In my mind, that’s discriminatory and unfair. Yes, the work and opinions of women are equally important and women may approach tasks in a different way, but then so can men and they should compete on a level playing field. If we want the country to run well and represent the population as a democracy, then there is an argument for mirroring the MPs in proportion to the population. However, to choose representatives artificially does not guarantee the desired result. To develop this further, is it necessary to have quotas from the ethnic and LGBTQ communities? To believe that a man can’t represent a woman, or vica versa, assumes ignorance, as does the fact that one section of a community cannot represent another. In a democracy, a chosen member should represent all constituents. If individuals want to be in that position, they can put themselves forward in an election and let the public decide.
Similarly, in business the aim should be for efficiency and well-run companies. Applicants for a position should be chosen irrespective of their gender, race, religion or age and to impose such restrictions is wrong. If shareholders in a public company believe a policy should change, then they have the power to do so. For an outside body to impose that is bowing to the whims of the woke brigade. There are already sufficient laws to avoid discrimination, and we don’t need to introduce more. If we reach 40% of women on the boards of public companies, it should be completely on merit, not politics.