Ella Whelan had a nice article on Spiked about the de facto sacking of Kevin Roberts for expressing an admittedly naïve, but contrarian, opinion on gender equality in the workplace:
It seems that illiberal liberals have discovered a new type of microaggression: gender-equality denial. Kevin Roberts, former chairman of the advertising agency Saatchi & Saatchi, has been forced to take a leave of absence following his comments on gender equality in the workplace.
You could be forgiven for thinking that Roberts had gone on a rant about women having smaller brains and making sandwiches. But, if you forgive his cursing, Roberts’ comments were actually quite boring. In an interview with Business Insider, he said shocking things like, ‘I don’t think [the lack of women in leadership roles] is a problem’ and ‘the fucking debate is all over’. He defended his own company, (Saatchi & Saatchi has a 50/50 gender quota scheme) and asserted that the reason more women aren’t in top jobs is that they want to be happy rather than rich – hardly scandalous.
But even Roberts’ nonchalant lack of interest in gender equality is unacceptable, it seems. Feminists barely had time to hit the keyboards before Roberts had been put on leave with the promise that his position at Saatchi & Saatchi would be reviewed – in other words, he was sacked. Not only that, but Publicis Groupe, the parent company of Saatchi & Saatchi, released a statement damning Roberts’ comments and warning its employees that ‘diversity and inclusion are business imperatives on which Publicis Groupe will not negotiate’. Yes, that’s right, Publicis values diversity and inclusion so much that it will not tolerate diversity or inclusion of political opinion in the workplace.
…Roberts doesn’t want a debate about gender equality, but neither do his critics. Gender equality, it seems, is not up for discussion. Anyone who has criticised the political inadequacies of contemporary feminism knows this. If we want to have a real debate about women’s freedom (a discussion on reproductive rights would be a good start), we should have one. But let’s stop this pretence of a debate about gender and get serious about defending women’s agency and capabilities. That means allowing men like Roberts to have an opinion and to voice it freely without being silenced or sacked.
The thing that amused me was the Orwellian press release from Publicis. Talk about self-contradiction!
Finally, as “white male”, I am really feeling the hate from radical feminists. One wrong word and you are fired. I am sure many many men are choosing to stay silent on a whole host of issues for fear of repercussions. Mission accomplished I suppose? Whilst men are being sacked and having their livelihoods destroyed for expressing heterodoxy, radical feminists in particular can express the most sordid anti-(white)male sentiments with absolute impunity. It does not dim my commitment to gender equality at all all, but I am actively rooting for the real feminists like Camille Paglia who are taking the fight to these vicious people and standing up for free speech, gender equality and human rights.
See also:
Joanna Williams in The Spectator – http://blogs.spectator.co.uk/2016/08/saatchis-sexism-row-suggests-feminists-cant-handle-debate/
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