Apparently, there are people angry on the internet and these people may not have thought their anger entirely through. I know, I know. This news may provoke great shock in you. As we know, communication by internet is usually undertaken in the spirit of rational peace, and haven’t we all lost count of the times we’ve set a perfect idea forth online to have it embraced and nourished as though it were a precious unicorn foal?
Now that you’ve recovered from this blow, and no longer trust the internet as a place for ‘respectful debate’ alone, let me describe the nature of this outrage.
It seems a few days ago a media personality known for taking a conservative stance took, um a conservative stance. A chap, in fact, who was once awarded for what were seen as . The radio host about what he perceived as the unwillingness of women to work in high-profile broadcast positions such as he enjoys.
On social and traditional media, many women, and some men, have pointed out the flaw in Jones’ logic and have taken the opportunity to campaign for more diversity in media.
Let’s consider a reasonable response. I’d suggest that a big, fat nothing is a good one. Let those who believe it enjoy the delusion that those others who do not have magnificent wealth are simply without sufficient get-up and go.
The response that has largely come, however, is one of protest. On social and traditional media, , and some men, have pointed out the flaw in Jones’ logic and have taken the opportunity to campaign for more diversity in media.
You may see this as a good and reasonable response. If so, allow me to ruin your day.
I am a Woman in Media. For more than two decades, I have worked in a sector that may not pay that well these days but, heck, it offers a girl, or a boy for that matter, great privilege. You are in no way representative of the mass of people, who in this nation work in sectors like retail, care and transport.
There are very few jobs in media, for either women or men. I should say that I am very glad that an organisation like SBS produces professional content with the labour of many different sorts of people. I love that I can read stuff written from diverse perspectives and see faces on screen that have a whole palette of makeup applied to them, not just the white bits. That I can hear the many different versions of the Australian accent is important to you and to me.
You are in no way representative of the mass of people, who in this nation work in sectors like retail, care and transport.
But, perhaps it’s more important that we quit using media to talk about how important media is, and think for a moment about all those people consigned to more usual work.
You know, I really don’t give much of a hoot if there are more women “represented” on talk-back radio. I do give a hoot that there are women, and men, paid well for the essential tasks that they perform in the nation.
Good media does good. It buoys our spirits, it makes our view of the world more panoramic, it gives expression to some people who may not have found it anywhere else due to the fiction that they are ‘reluctant’ to talk. One thing a network or an outlet cannot do is change the conditions of everyday working people.
We can draw attention to it. Sometimes, media do. But, what tends to happen often in many outlets is that commentators will say “if we have better representation in media, then things will get better for everyone”.
Childcare and elder care, both sectors that are growing as some successful, mostly white, women make gains in better paid trades—say, like media—will not be reformed by more women in media.
This is the belief that underpins all the well-intended protest about Alan Jones’ latest comments: that if only a few more women had a few more swish jobs, all women would benefit. Nah. You could stack all the executive suites of the land with women, have an all-woman cast of The Footy Show and prescribe only those school text books written by women. Over decades, this may make some small difference to, say, the tiny wages women who are the backbone of the childcare sector are paid. But this strategy seems to me a bit impractical.
Childcare and elder care, both sectors that are growing as some successful, mostly white, women make gains in better paid trades—say, like media—will not be reformed by more women in media.
A person can call out any person for what they perceive to be sexism and there will still be brown women looking after white babies at a terrible hourly rate. The chiefly male role of driving people (again, mostly white people) to their destination will not be helped by heroes on TV. Even if people and their employers are inspired a little by more diverse media content, they would be better and more quickly served by secure work conditions.
When I see a load of ladies, who look very much like me, fighting for their right to join the elite and earn six-figure salaries on talk-back radio, I get a little mad.
If this, or any other, Woman in Media ceased to speak, it would be no great loss. If we continue to ignore the conditions of the many in favour of the pleasure of the few, though, we’ll lose something vital.
It’s not about us. We who already have the privilege of speaking loudly must not abuse it by speaking only of those in our sector. We must not believe that we have the power to change other people’s lives through our success. We must admit that a job market that rewards certain workers and consigns others to clean up the privileged worker’s mess is fundamentally unfair.
So, perhaps, next time you feel like venting a little outrage about how few women have the jobs of the few, think of the many. Have a thought not just for what you understand as “success”, but thoughts for those who toil to keep the whole darn thing working. The people who care for our children. The people who drive us to work. The people who make our coffees and clean our nice clothes and bring our parcels to the door. Their work is vital.
Me? I just bang on. If this, or any other, Woman in Media ceased to speak, it would be no great loss. If we continue to ignore the conditions of the many in favour of the pleasure of the few, though, we’ll lose something vital. Our sense that we all have the right to flourish. And that so many of us just don’t get to.
