Have you got your hand raised? If not, please do so now and execute a big ‘ol facepalm because we have ourselves another *hot* take from the Daily Telegraph.
This time, national political editor Sharri Markson has taken issue with the ABC‘s apparently “patronising” and “tokenistic” push to promote gender equality in the workplace by announcing its male presenters will take a backseat to female talent tomorrow, on International Women’s Day.
Kicking off at 6am with ABC News Breakfast, an all-star female roster of presenters including – or so we hear – very excellent humans Yassmin Abdel-Magied and Susan Carland will lead all the major radio and TV news bulletins and current affairs programs and present across the day on Newsradio and News 24.
Triple J is joining suit with its annual ‘Girls To The Front’ Initiative, spinning music made by women all day long across not only Triple J but Double J and Triple J Unearthed, presented by a roster of BAFM like Veronica Milsom, Zan Rowe, Gen Fricker and Linda Marigliano.
On the front page of today’s paper, Markson blasted the initiative to “boot all of its male television and radio hosts off air tomorrow” – which includes the host of PM, Mark Colvin, radio anchor Richard Fidler and News Breakfast co-host Michael Rowland – with, wait for it, “fill-in women”.
“The national broadcaster, which pockets more than $1 billion in taxpayer funds annually to bring Australians allegedly objective news, will spend the day promoting gender equality to mark International Women’s Day,” she writes, drolly.“Even worse: Why is the national broadcaster patronising women so badly by suggesting that men need to be banned before they can get a prominent hosting gig.”
Never mind the fact that many of the women who will be presenting for the ABC on IWD already *have* their own, well-respected hosting gigs i.e. Zan.
It’s also worth noting that the ABC’s male contingent isn’t banned; they’ll still turn up to work but will complete “other tasks” for the day, according to the ABC.
Sky News host / Tony Abbott‘s former right-hand Peta Credlin also gave her two (predictably conservative) cents on the move, calling it “nothing more than a token gesture by the ultimate organisation of tokenism, the ABC.”
“Where’s their commitment to women over the other 364 days of the year? Surely we want the best in the media all day every day, be it men or women.”
PEDESTRIAN.TV has contacted the ABC for comment.
Photo: Instagram / @yassmin_a.
