Tuesday 2 June 2009

Feminism: not actually that complicated!

The farce ceiling

It takes a brave, middle-aged, white CEO, or a spectacularly anachronistic old duffer, to come out with the following: "There are really no glass ceilings, despite the fact that some of you moan about it all the time … What else do you want, for God's sake?" Determinedly refraining from replying, "Well, I'd like you to stop addressing female journalists as 'darling', Daddy-O," I will suggest that Rose makes the common error of assuming that just because Nicola Horlick exists, all hurdles have been elegantly scaled.

Yes, childbirth is, as Rose says, "a biological fact". But that women still earn £369,000 less than men during their careers, according to a recent BBC documentary, is not. Nor is the tenacious universal attitude that the woman should bear the major brunt of childcare, even if she works just as hard as the man.

But let's not bully poor Rose. Let's instead turn to an interview with the author Martina Cole, who is a "self-confessed feminist". Great! She's officially less stupid than Shakira. Unfortunately, it comes directly after this other confession: "I have a housekeeper. And it's fantastic. It's like having a wife, it really is." Call me crazy but I don't think that equating a "wife" with a "cleaner" is quite the feminist dream.