But she's on top form here on the subject of women in top jobs.
Other firms sadly put prejudice before business sense.Business is entirely motivated by profit maximisation and satisfying shareholders. If those who owned businesses felt that it was in their best interests (and in FTSE stocks, we are talking about big bonuses, of which Hairy would no doubt disapprove), they would employ a fucking monkey - or even a dozy chef - if they thought it conducive to a healthy profit and loss account.
24 percent of FTSE 100 companies have no women on their boards and more than half of the FTSE 200 companies have no women in the boardroom.
Norway has made it mandatory for 40 percent of company boards to ne (sic) made up of women.
It’s high time we in the UK followed these European examples [...]
Just a brief anecdote from my transport business. Around six months ago, we advertised for a new transport manager through Reed. 46 applied but after the agency had whittled them down for us (part of their service) we were sent just seven CVs, all of them from men**. This wasn't anything to do with prejudice - the Reed recruiter was a twenty-something female, after all - it's just that females don't get turned on much by trucks, trailers, headways and bills of lading ... so don't tend to gravitate towards the transport industry.
Say, for argument's sake, government dictated that 40% of our interviewees were to be female by law - or 40% of our technical staff - where are we to source them? Recruit a few credit controllers, perhaps, give them a crash course in tail-lift regulations, maintenance schedules, the intricacies of European community licensing, international road transport regulations etc, AND then pay them the same wage, remember, as a transport professional with 25 years' experience?
Likewise, if a FTSE company is short of their arbitrary 40% level, are they to over-promote a middle manager - and pay her commensurately - simply because she is female and helps fill the quota?
That's not 'business sense', it's irrational lunacy.
The only 'prejudice' being exhibited here is by those who think that legislation to coerce businesses into recruiting women is somehow preferable to giving the job to the person most able to deliver.
£350k per annum and this London (covering the City, remember) MEP's imaginary prejudice-obsessed brain prevents her from understanding that businesses recruit solely in order to increase profitability. That's the whole point of being in business.
** I did ask if any applicants were women, out of interest. There was one who was described as "woefully underqualified" ... she was a delivery driver for Sainsbury's
