Louise Roberts: What if a male executive bought his staff expensive watches?
Male business leaders traditionally have to do a lot worse than buy some watches or have a relationship before they face the same judgments as female leaders, writes Louise Roberts.
Opinion
Don't miss out on the headlines from Opinion. Followed categories will be added to My News.
Bad optics have certainly been hurting prominent Aussie women from the world of business and politics in recent weeks.
And you have to wonder: what if it were men on the rack instead?
Would there be instant demands to step aside over designer stainless steel watches or to hold a pity party because matters of the heart collided with work?
Even TV host Eddie McGuire, not known for slapping down sexists in public, has waded in to offer his view on life being tough for well-paid female executives.
From what we have seen, the only way to turn the ICAC heat down on NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian was a slick PR campaign to make people feel sorry for her.
And in the most recent case of Australia Post boss Christine Holgate, trinkets have been her undoing when clearly her mission was to pay a bonus to people who have worked very hard.
Holgate admitted to Senate estimates last week that four senior employees were given $3000 Cartier watches as a “thank you” for helping secure a pivotal deal with three of the major banks.
It was two years ago, pre-Corona, but the blowtorch of indignation has been fierce, with all the fury of living in the twin hell of a pandemic and a recession.
And it is worth noting that while the federal government owns Australia Post, it operates as an independent business and has no Government funding pipeline.
They just collect the dividends as the majority shareholders.
Holgate is not a public servant and ICAC has found no evidence of wrongdoing on Berejiklian’s part.
MORE NEWS
‘I’m so sick of this victim, shaming bulls..t’
‘Dear taxpayer, why you should pay for my childcare’
Private school majority pay for the sins of a few
But both women have apparently failed the pub test because their choice of gift or partner has infuriated the public.
No room for outrage then about taxpayers shelling out $30m for a block of would-be airport land at Badgerys Creek that is not worth a tenth of the purchase price.
Plenty of people have meanwhile worked out how many velvet-lined boxes of Cartier Tank watches that would add up to.
In Holgate’s case, PM Scott Morrison’s broadside made the French timepieces front page news. He was “appalled”. The gifts were “disgraceful and not on”.
“We are the shareholders of Australia Post on behalf of the Australian people,” he said.
“The chief executive … has been instructed to stand aside. If she doesn’t wish to do that, she can go.”
So stand aside Holgate did, after Communications Minister Paul Fletcher ordered an investigation into the company.
But what if we had a male premier with a clandestine dodgy girlfriend? Or a bloke running Australia Post who rewarded staff with a few thousand in cash or a top of the range meat smoker?
McGuire said the Holgate situation was more about “the politics of envy” plus sexism.
As Collingwood Football Club president, the somewhat polarising McGuire says he has worked with Holgate on the club’s board and that she rejected a position on a bank’s board so she could tackle homelessness.
“Christine Holgate is one of the most impressive people that I have ever met,” McGuire noted. “Her absolute devotion to looking after people and getting an outcome is second to none.
“Her sacrifice is incredible. She will hate that I am saying this, but I hate seeing women who get to these positions get kicked around.
“It’s not like she was actually sticking their money in their own pocket.
“She was actually doing it to, to lift people around her.
“I know Christine. That’s what she does. You know what? Best thing that could ever happen is that she gets out of working for these dullards.”
We’re still in cliche land with our female leaders who find themselves the centre of attention for reasons their male counterparts would never experience.
Former Senator for South Australia and Australian Democrats leader Natasha Stott Despoja is as famous for being the youngest ever woman in federal parliament as she is for wearing her Doc Martens to work.
Much was written about the red satin shoes, complete with bejewelled heels, that Julie Bishop wore when she resigned as Australia’s first female foreign minister in 2018.
When has a male politician or businessman in this country been called out for his choice of footwear?
Recall the case of West Australian Opposition Leader Troy Buswell, who made international headlines years ago after he admitted to sniffing the chair of a female Liberal staffer.
Prior to his admission, the ABC reported he had described the allegation as “an unsubstantiated rumour”.
When the time came for Buswell to confirm the events were accurate, he conceded that his behaviour before becoming leader had sometimes been highly offensive but that he was committed to changing.
Prior to becoming Opposition Leader he had also been caught snapping the bra of a Labor staff member.
Even though Liberal MPs were privately saying they were disgusted by the chair-sniffing incident, there would not be a leadership change because there was no alternative to Buswell.
His own deputy, Dr Kim Hames, offered public support, saying that while it was obvious Buswell had done something inappropriate, he deeply regretted it and was a great leader.
“To me Troy’s a rough diamond and you don’t fix a rough diamond by
smashing it to pieces,” he said.
“You take those rough edges off and you’ve got something that is of quality.”
Gender should never be the defining issue in selecting a CEO or indeed premier.
This is where we get ourselves in a muddle with male and female quotas
in the misguided mission of diversity.
But emotion and jewellery and a marriage that will never be are the recurring themes that frame the disgust towards women like Holgate and Berejiklian, who are unapologetically competitive in their approach.