Let them eat cupcakes
On International Women's Day, the disconnect between what has become a tick-a-box exercise versus any meaningful solutions to the very real issues facing women in corporate Australia has become jarring.
One of the rituals at breakfasts and morning teas on International Women’s Day is the proffering of cupcakes while “journeys, challenges and opportunities” are celebrated. But as IWD has grown in stature, Marie Antoinette’s glib call to “let them eat cake!’ is starting to feel more and more appropriate.
The disconnect between what has now become a tick-a-box exercise of “something we have to do” versus any meaningful action or solutions to the very real issues facing women has become jarring. Those issues include the gender pay gap, the unequal division of parental responsibilities, and even more deeply uncomfortable topics like sexual harassment in the workplace.
Some corporates simply see the day as a great marketing opportunity. We’ve seen numerous videos and posts on LinkedIn such as investment manager Pimco’s video celebrating women’s achievements, while Pimco has zero female fund managers in Australia and globally has just one woman on its investment leadership team.
Then there’s the crypto fragrance developed by an “all-female team” at Binance with the aim to “open up discussion in the right way”...?
