And, naturally, the headline to mark the appointment began “Mum of four”: because how else would you describe an executive if not by reference to their progeny?
Seriously, the Daily Mail today? Give me strength pic.twitter.com/JC0h29dVto
— Rachel Johnson (@RachelSJohnson) June 6, 2017
After my eyes rolled back to the front of my head I experienced deja vu. Hadn’t I seen this before?
I checked the date and confirmed Mahon’s appointment was indeed made this week so there is no way I had seen it earlier.
And then it hit me. The reason I remembered this feeling was because back in 2014 when Rona Fairhead was promoted to head the BBC she was described in exactly the same way.
This is 2014 pic.twitter.com/e0Qyess7Ut via @wvhtlucy
— EverydaySexism (@EverydaySexism) August 31, 2014
The reality back then was the same as now: I have never seen a man’s appointment to any role ever reference his family status. Have you?
Unsurprisingly, Mahon, like Fairhead, is eminently qualified for her new job.
“Alex is an outstanding leader and a highly experienced chief executive who has developed and grown major international businesses in both the creative and technology sectors,” the Channel 4 chairman, Charles Gurassa, said.
Daily Mail 1964: "Oxford Housewife Wins Nobel"
Sunday Telegraph 2014: "Mother of three poised to lead the BBC" @EverydaySexism— Paul Coxon (@paulcoxon) August 31, 2014
Whether she is single, married, had no children or had ten children is entirely inconsequential. So why does it make the headline?
Have we really made so little progress in our thinking that a woman is defined by the number of children she has?