Monday 11 August 2008

Feminism is dead, long live feminism!

Deborah's already done the dirty work and pointed out the error of Noelle McCarthy's ways. I figured I'd just coast along on D's coat tails. In fact I am going to be so incredibly lazy that I'm going to fall back on pictures to say several thousand words...

The 2007 APEC Leaders summit included plenty of women leaders, right?


And there is no glass ceiling in business, either:

And the caucus of our main opposition party, the one that might well form the core of our next government, is so chock full of ladies you can hardly even see any white men in suits:


Hmmmm.

Oh well, at least at the Olympics men and women are treated as equals right?

10 comments:

Anna said...

In the Microsoft photo, it looks like the women have been foregrounded to make it seem like there are more than the small number actually there - except for the older-looking woman, who is further back than the young hotties...

Thanks for the pictures by the way, Julie. Sometimes my addled brain appreciates some effective, easy-to-absorb information!

Azlemed said...

mmm eye candy for the boys at the olympics, but no eye candy for me?

Stephanie said...

Speaking of the Olympics, up until 1968 women had to go through a physical exam to prove they were women.

See here

homepaddock said...

The reasons why women aren't in business and politics in such large numbers as men may be of more interest than the raw numbers.Are they not there because they can't get there or do they just not want to?

BTW - the photo of the National caucus still has Don Brash as leader. His resignation created a place for a woman - Katrina Shanks.(I make the point for accuracy not to dispute the imbalance of numbers because that's still just one less man and one more woman).

Nikki Elisabeth said...

I noticed the same thing as Anna about the Microsoft pic. Small mercy: at least they are aware of it! (Even if they try and disguise it :/ )

Anonymous said...

And the thing that gets me about the beach volleyball is that the official rules restrict the maximum size of the bikinis that women are required to wear. Apparently this is OK (according to Wikipedia), because the female players prefer to wear brief bikinis - which collect less sand! Strangely this argument has not resulted in the male players wearing Speedos.

Julie said...

On the Microsoft pic - I found it really interesting that it is a posed shot, taken ahead of the summit itself, yet they still haven't made all that much effort to diversify themselves up.

On the National caucus shot, yep it is an old one, I couldn't find a more recent one (and, as already mentioned, I am lazy).

On the beach volleyball uniforms, I read a bit about this, because my mum told me that a couple of the women's teams did try to wear bigger bikinis but they weren't allowed. The rules specify quite precise sizes and measurements for the women's clothing. And apparently some of the men actually want to go shirtless, and do in many other competitions, but the IOC Uniform Gnomes will not allow it. It's a strange world out there!

Lyn said...

I'm bound to say that while MS may well be indicative of other big Business environments, women seem to be even more under-represented in technology-driven situations. MS is no doubt trying just as hard as possible to avoid its traditional horribly geeky image and thus attract more of the brainiest geeks away from cooler places like Google. Sigh.

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Danyell said...

Yeah, I've always wondered why someone thought that women would be more comfortable playing sports in a bathing suit with their thighs rubbing together and sand in their nether-regions. As if they don't have to concentrate enough on the game, let's add in some self-esteem issues, make them feel self-conscious and worry about a possible "wardrobe malfunction" while the whole world is watching!

Go, athletic equality!

(Btw, hi! I found you searching for feminist bloggers :D)