Women’s Agenda sincerely congratulates the people who have been awarded various awards and medals today.
The fact that women and people of diverse background have such limited representation in the awards list does not diminish the achievements of the people on the list, and we would not want to take anything away from the honour they have been given.
However, I do question the reason the list is so heavily weighted to white men. 70% of the people who merited awards were men? Really? REALLY? I can’t be the only one who finds that difficult to believe.
There is no mention of cultural background in the list, but running through the list I can’t help but notice the overwhelming numbers of Anglo Saxon names. Again, the vast majority of meritorious people in Australia are white? in 2016? REALLY?
There are some wonderful people on that list, who have done amazing things for the benefit of the nation, they should be proud to be there.
But I am sure there are at least another 100 women who have earned a place on that list. And many, many more from non-white backgrounds who have equally earned a place on that list.
In 2016, no one should have to be saying this. Again. And yet, here we are. Again.
Let’s hope this might be the year we make some progress.