“By now you may have read or heard that over the weekend I described the leader of the Opposition Bill Shorten as an “economic girlie man”. Initially in the wake of the criticism I received for using such sexist language I was unimpressed. I was clearly joking by invoking a phrase first used by Arnold Schwarzenegger.
My intention was not to be derogatory towards girls or girlie men, rather my point was that Bill Shorten is weak. Honestly I didn’t think it was even gendered.
Last night, however, as I rested my head on the pillow I delved a little deeper into my psyche. I am not sexist, of course, but did Penny Wong have a point? If I wanted to call Shorten weak why didn’t I just call him weak? Why did the phrase “girlie-man” spring to mind? Even if I didn’t coin the term in the first place wasn’t the inference the same when Schwarzenegger first used it? Why do we equate “weakness” with girlie-ness? Is that the message we want to send boys or girls?
I think not. As such I would like to take the opportunity to apologise unreservedly for the language I used. I am the minister for finance, a position which carries power, and perpetuating the notion that girls are weak – even inadvertently – is not a legacy I am interested in creating with that power.
Rather I would like to use this opportunity to start a meaningful dialogue about the position Australian women hold. Sexism is not a problem that merely exists in far flung corners of this country. The ideas and attitudes that facilitate sexism live inside each of us and admitting that is the first vital step to stopping it.
Sexism will flourish unless we challenge the assumptions that underpin it and we all have a vested interest in doing that. Sexism costs Australians dearly; at one extreme women pay with their lives whilst at the other we all pay with our failure to capitalise on the talents, productivity and capability of half the population. It’s not a problem we can afford, nor a problem we want to afford.
But it’s a problem we all contribute to which is why I am now, after my reflection last night, quite mortified that I would use such blatantly gendered language in such a derogatory fashion. I am truly sorry.
As the minister for finance in a bid to make amends I have determined that the entire government will undertake compulsory unconscious bias training immediately. I will also be proposing very generous tax cuts for companies that do the same.”
*This is not a genuine statement. Imagine if it was?