Saturday 22 September 2012

percentile or just like a boss

After months of discussion and debate, the German upper houses of legislature have voted in favour of levying a mandate on all executive boards for a makeup of no less than forty percent female senior leadership. During the ensuing deliberation there was surely sufficient and competent advocates for the cause, raising and razing the so-called glass-ceiling, but the real gravity of the statement seemed to unfold quite delicately, ushered in forcefully but without necessarily the force of law.
Now that it has been decided, in other words, there is more leisure and license for musing. I wonder what such a statute is really accomplishing, since Germans in general do not seem to be adverse to a matriarchy and are respectful of powerful women—whereas, elsewhere in political circles, the achievements of a woman is regarded sort of skewed, without really saying so, like Caligula appointing his horse as senator. It’s not simply tokenism and was a very radical, though overlooked, departure from laissez-faire lip-service for greater equality in the workplace, but I am not sure what to think about this proposed legislation and I think possibly contrarian arguments were muted during the process for fear that one would appear sexist. Will this new standard in Germany be universally embraced by businesses? Could this be nursing a scenario where established patriarchies are at odds with Germany’s gender-diverse corporate leadership? There is always exclusivity at the top, but I think here, it is not necessarily an old boys’ network, but maybe heiresses and heirs-apparent. Perhaps there were hopes to infuse some maternal kindness into the industrial hierarchy with this equitable composition, but it is likely that no one is really elevated, except into the cut-throat company of borderline sociopaths and dare-devils.