Tuesday, 22 May 2007

Women get Ministry; Men get Labour’s cold shoulder

Massey University’s Pro Vice-Chancellor in education, James Chapman, has suggested that the drive to find equal opportunities for women had gone too far and there was a need to restore that balance. His remarks followed a graduation ceremony in which only 15 of the 158 graduates were men.

“I totally agree with the Pro Vice-Chancellor’s warning about the disparity between guys and girls. The lack of men in teaching is a huge problem, but one totally ignored by the Labour Government because it is men not women who are under-represented,” says United Future’s Judy Turner.

“Gender barriers occur on both sides of the coin, and it is high time that we recognised the inherent injustice of having a Ministry that solely looks at issues from a female perspective at the exclusion of issues that challenge men.

“The Ministry of Women’s Affairs is horrified by the lack of women sitting on company boards. It demands far more women in modern apprenticeships. But when more than 99% of preschool teachers are women, and more than 80% of primary school teachers are female, everyone is silent.

“Men need an advocate in Government as well as women. The Government should start advocating for either gender wherever barriers exist – the current set up in inherently sexist whatever way you look at it.

“Boys are falling further behind in education. Men die years earlier, and commit suicide in far greater numbers. Far more men turn to drug abuse. They are more often the perpetrators and also the victims of violent crime. Fathers are continually failed by our family court and alienated from their children. Men want more time with their whanau but feel increasing pressure to work more and provide for their young families.

“The list goes on, but is not big enough or important enough for the Government to acknowledge or act.

“This Government is so blinkered by its socialist/feminist ideology that it either hasn’t noticed or doesn’t care about the myriad of issues challenging New Zealand blokes,” says Mrs Turner. “This Government is failing men.”

ENDS

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