Tuesday, November 07, 2006

Pale, male & stale?

In yesterday's Business Age there was a report on the need to feminise the Australian workplace. According to Stephen Bevan, director of the British based group The Work Foundation:

If employers here think they need what I call pale, male and stale employees, they're going to be disappointed.


It's interesting that Stephen Bevan should refer in such a negative way to older, white, male workers. First, most of the employers he is appealing to are themselves going to fit within this category. Is he hoping that they won't twig to the fact that in attacking the older, white, male category of their workforce that he is spitting in their eye as well?

Second, I note that The Work Foundation has on its website the following statement:

With our emphasis on promoting respect and dignity within every organisation as a means of boosting performance, The Work Foundation is way ahead of the game on people management.


Respect and dignity? Not for everyone it seems.

Third, for a case study in grand hypocrisy take a look at the directors of The Work Foundation. Every single one "pale" and "stale" and all but one "male" as well. Maybe they should be the first to step aside for the younger, female, multi-ethnic workforce they are so keen to promote (for other people, just not for themselves).

2 comments:

  1. Older males can't tolerate unnecessary managerialsim and that's why many managers want them out.

    Women by contrast, are usually more compliant.

    For example,I know a highly respected scientist in a museum, who just snapped one day and said to the museum director - "I'm not writing this f**kin pointless mission statement, sack me".

    This type of response just doesn't happen very often with women.

    The modern 'human relations' school of management works on the principle that women can be easliy manipulated, provided they are treated politely.

    By contrast, many men react angrily to be being asked in a polite way to do something they strongly disagree with.

    Increasing though, older male employees are too valuable to be sacked, so saccharine managers are just going to have to put up with them.

    ReplyDelete
  2. so keen to promote (for other people, just not for themselves).

    Is there a field of diversity bolstering where that statement wouldn’t apply?

    ReplyDelete