When a male leader starts discussing gender gaps in leadership with the line, “as a father of daughters,” women share a collective eyeroll.
Leaders shouldn’t require daughters, a wife, a sister, an aunt or a female friend to show an interest in issues affecting women.
Liberal National MP Terry Young clearly hasn’t received the memo.
Perhaps he somehow missed the public furore sparked when his friend and former leader, Scott Morrison, declared that his wife Jenny Morrison had a way of “clarifying” things, which had him reflecting on sexual assault in parliament.
Speaking against quotas in the Parliament’s Federal Chamber on Tuesday, Young declared his credentials of being a “father of three girls” when sharing how women are naturally drawn to different jobs and professions.
“As a father of three daughters if any of them didn’t get a job because of their gender I’d be filthy,” Young said.
“But I would be just as filthy if they got a job because of their gender,”
“I simply cannot understand why we cannot accept that men and women have vocations that the majority of each gender is drawn to. Men tend to be more drawn to vocations that involve maths, physical exertion like construction and trades.
“Whereas women in the main tend to be drawn to careers that involve women and care and other people. Vocations like hairdressers, nursing, social workers and the like will always be more female-dominated.”
The comments were offensive to any woman, but particularly to women in the new parliament, one of them being the leader of the Opposition and the first female leader of the Liberal Party, Sussan Ley.
But Young did soften things. He said that it’s “only right” that those who aren’t “wired” the right way can still pursue opportunities in professions that are built for the opposite sex. He also conceded that, “the days of posters of half-naked women in lunchrooms need to be put away.”
Overall, he described quotas as “demeaning” and “insulting” and that work positions should always be based on merit.”
Young claimed to be speaking for the “forgotten Australians” as he shared his speech.
He said that “crazy policies and ideologies” were damaging Australia.
And yet, some of the most significant damage to Australia comes down to the fact that the Albanese Government now largely lacks any real opposition, due to the Coalition being unable and unwilling to improve its standing with one half of the population: women.
Minister for Infrastructure Catherine King was quick to denounce Young’s comments in Question Time on Tuesday, declaring: “A note to the Liberals and Nationals: It’s 2025. Your gender never means a job is off limits.”
She described Young’s comments as “an absolute crock,” and ignored the many women already in parliament from diverse backgrounds.
Liberal leader Sussan Ley has declared the party must address its lack of women’s representation, and that she is open to ways in which that can happen. It’s an issue that some in the party are hoping to address, but others across the full Coalition look set to spend the rest of their time in office pushing back on.