AIBU to agree with Kemi Badenoch’s comments about women?

I’ve never voted conservative and I really like Kemi. She is always bang on. She’s the only one I think that speaks any sense.

You live in her constituency?

She’s the only politician I’d vote for. There’s not one other across any of the parties that I’d vote for.

That's quite a leap!

Kemi wants to scrap the ECHR and PSED, that is not good news for women's rights and protections.

Kemi wants to roll back maternity rights.

Yes but isn't this Kemi's point? Women can be good at a job, equally women can be bad at a job.

They are not good or bad because they are women.

We simply want the best person to do the job regardless of gender, race etc!
That is what meritocracy is all about. Getting the best.

Are you suggesting we should be rolling back workplace protections for women? Do you know how bad things used to be before workplace equality?

I can't believe how prepared some people are to throw away hard-earned rights due to the terror of somebody else getting something they don't qualify for.

Yep

I disagree with her politics and most of what she says, and I do think quotas and EDI initiatives have a place and are necessary. I do agree with the line about how wrong and annoying it is to describe certain traits as male, though, like ambition, drive or assertiveness. Personality traits are not inherently gendered, that’s patriarchal nonsense. There are ambitious, cut-throat and assertive men and women just as there are meek, soft and caring men and women.

The Starmer government does however have the largest number of women in history, it is the most gender balanced.

As well as state educated cabinet ministers

Badenoch was in government which she seems to have forgotten.

Totally agree. I am a huge Kemi fan. She is a fantastic role model for the black community.

I mean, Clinton considered "because it's her turn" as one of her election slogans, and the idea that it was time for a woman to win was something she brought up a lot in political speeches.

They somewhat backed away from that with Harris, having learned how much it turned people off. But you still had things like Obama accusing a group of black men for not wanting to vote "for a sister" who they needed to support because she was a black.

It was absolutely an undercurrent for both DND really not a great look in either case.

I don't think you can argue with the fact that the Labour party has really struggled with having women or racial minorities in leadership, compared to the Tories.

Maybe at one time it could have been brushed off as chance, but I don't think that will wash any more. The approach the Labour Party has taken doesn't seem to work. That throws a lot of doubt on their approach to identity issues in general. And I also think they really need to shut up about the moral high ground BS they think they have on these issues because they really don't have the moral high ground.

There is a valid point about Labour never having had a woman as leader, or indeed get more votes in a leadership election than a man. The trade union movement continued using the phrase 'brothers' for far too long, as well.

However, Kemi Badenoch was prepared to serve in a government led by a man who in his personal life has treated women disgracefully and would not even acknowledge all of his own children until the courts forced him to.

She’s very clever but not clever enough to realise sniping and bitching are not the way to go -we had our fingers burned with Starmer constantly criticising Tories (not that they didn’t deserve it) the electorate wrongly assumed he must have a better plan ….how wrong we were

I don't think I have. It is important but you are always unpopular, as it the cabinet minister in charge of welfare. You are damned whatever you do.

Whereas Foreign Secretary gets you a profile and some success, for example.

She likes to have a go at Labour women doesn't she. Her comments towards Phillipson were vile and she refused to apologise , just 'hurty words'

She comes across as quite insecure with her insults.

The US electorate are sexist when it comes to powerful roles. Look at Trumps party

Hmm, I think the truth is somewhere in the middle.

Not keen on quotas, or people getting a post just because they are female / non-white / gay etc. A lot of people feel identity politics have gone too far.

But equally we don't want to throw away EDI principles altogether and go back to the days of white men running everything. Where Kemi says "The US electorate are not anti-women", sadly I think she's wrong there, I think a large proportion of the US electorate are anti-women (unless perhaps you are a Republican woman whose policies centre men).

Vile. Many years ago I worked an event that included her, and a memo was sent out to all staff dictating that we were not to make eye contact with her or even speak to her unless spoken to first.

It's a shame she couldn't resist having a pop at individual women. She could have written the piece without doing that. But that's Badenoch for you. Never passes up an opportunity to be spiteful.

No disagree-she’s wrong
Tories only give the job to women when everything is a cock up and no men want it

Maggie Thatcher only got in after Heath as we were up the creek without a paddle -3 day week, dock strikes, miners strikes etc etc
Theresa May only got in because we were in a disastrous post-Brexit balls up and the men all stepped back
Liz Truss only got in as we were in a post Covid disaster
Kemi only got in because we were in the post Coviid , post Brexit, immigration mess and the men knew Conservatives would lose the election

The Tories are sexist as are Labour and both also a bit racist.

Bore off Kemi, you’re spending far too much time on MN.