I tend to avoid the F-word, because whenever I use it I always end up unintentionally horribly betraying the sisterhood in some way.
And also I can't help thinking that a lot of feminism only serves to ghettoise women further, and is therefore completely counter-productive, and that what we should really do is just get on with things without drawing attention to our gender every five seconds, and oh arse, I just did it again.
But sometimes I do get a bit riled up, like just now when I was perusing a leaflet that fell out of our industry rag, the inimitable PR Week.
The leaflet is for the Fast Growth Business Awards 2008, and the categories are as follows. See if you can spot the incongruity:
1. T-Mobile Fast Growth Business of the Year
2. Service Business of the Year
3. Product Business of the Year
4. Retail/Leisure Business of the Year
5. Online Business of the Year
6. Best Use of Technology
7. Innovative Business of the Year
8. International Business of the Year
9. Angel or VC-Backed Business of the Year
10. PLUS New Business of the Year
11. AIM New Business of the Year
12. Female Entrepreneur of the Year
13. Financial Director of the Year
14. Green Business of the Year
15. One to Watch
I can't work out if the award organisers have established category 12 because they think that female entrepreneurs deserve a little pat on the head for doing something that's the preserve of men, or because they think women are unlikely to win in the other categories because their companies won't be good enough.
Still, at least they didn't say 'women entrepreneurs', eh, English language fans?
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9 comments:
I entirely agree: this kind of discrimination against men should be condemned. Why should women be eligible in all categories but men debarred from one?
Absolutely right, Tony. I might send them a little email to find out what the rationale is.
Yes, please do. This kind of thing really gets my goat also. (Not as much as Observer Woman though, natch)
Your post titles are never anything short of fantastic. They are the titles I dream of having.
...and is it possible to find out if a woman has won any other category in previous years?
My guess is that the rationale will be that the prize sponsor is specifically interested in women and entrepreneurship. Still a bad idea, I feel, even so.
My feelings of outrage are slightly tempered by the knowledge that I accepted a cup at the Summer Garden Show for top marks across all categories - for a woman. I just need to kill of the 3 blokes who did better than me and then I could stop being a hypocrite.
Is the prize for category 12 a set of saucepans?
Yup, I think there's a paradox at the heart of feminism in that fighting for women to be treated no differnetly to men seems to involve discussing women as a seperate and distinct group. I haven't quite managed to put my finger on it yet, never mind work it out in my head.
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