Quotas

For the recent anniversary of international women's day, the media celebrated by stirring-up that age-old question of whether there should be a government enforced quota on the amount of women sitting on company boards.

The most interesting coverage was by the ABC’s Q and A program. (Transcript available here: http://www.abc.net.au/tv/qanda/txt/s3151089.htm)

On the program, both the Minister for Employment, Participation, Childcare and the Status of Women, Kate Ellis and Shadow Treasurer Joe Hockey supported the introduction of quotas in order to bring about better gender balance in top corporate positions.

Keyboard-warriors however were outraged at the suggestion of quotas saying that “what ‘women’ seem to want is the success and power and money without the sacrifice or the hard work”. One person even went so far as to liken women to a “petulant child demanding a pony!”.

Even though I want nothing more than to live in a world free of all brands of discrimination but the fact is we don’t. Women are discriminated against and kept from higher level jobs for a wide number of reasons. On Q and A, media commentator Mike Carlton even admitted to an unspoken “male conspiracy to keep women of childbearing age away from jobs that might take them up in a hierarchy”

It might be true that some women chose to have families, take maternity leave and work less hours but it is also true that women have much to contribute to their companies with research showing that the more women on the board the higher the return on sales, invested capital and equity. Considering that women make up 45% of our workforce, yet take up little over 11% of board positions I think this country is really missing out on the benefits that women bring to the corporate table.

I don’t expect quotas to single-handedly bring about equal rights in the workplace but I do think that they will help to shake up the “boys club” mentality that plagues this society.

Let’s face it: quota’s aren’t what we want. Equal rights are what we want and if quota’s will help us to get there then I’m all for them.