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

And that's the bottom line. She doesn't have to remind everyone that she has a vagina, or point out the colour of her skin, etc or that she is 'oppressed'.

Her argument has some merit eg you have to put yourself forward to become a leader. However, mixed up with the reasonable comments are some nasty opinions. As some PPs have said, I think it is incredibly unlikely that the Conservative Party is a meritocracy. Sexism is still alive and well, as is the old boy network - and networks and relationships matter. I fervently disagree with her comments about there being no structural misogyny and her explanation that is down the qualities and attitudes of the women themselves.

Absolutely agree.

Hilary Clinton was worse. She felt entitled just because of who her husband was and that she was somehow ‘owed’ the position. This entitlement was her undoing. Andy Burnham could learn a lot from that situation.

The party members were, to a significant degree, racist. Sunak was quite obviously the better candidate in the round he fought against Truss.

I know this as fact as a friend who campaigned on his behalf (I.e. rung round party members) was confronted with racist comments on the phone, that and that some less racist members thought he was a ‘boris backstabber’. These were the two recurring themes.

Party members choosing prime ministers without an election never ends well. Corbyn, Truss etc etc. If Burnham really believes in himself and his policies he should call an election. Which he won’t…but then I think he is doomed…I really hope I’m wrong.

Sure you can agree with what you like, OP. Go for it.

Me, I don't agree even slightly with the comment that Hillary Clinton or Kamala Harris expected they should be President just bcz they were women. I see ZERO evidence for that & I can't understand why KB even mentioned them.

The entire subtext of KB's post is that Labour is made up of wimps. I don't agree with that, either.

It's kind of weird... KB is implying that her party's policies are better policies bcz members of her party are tougher people. Is that how life works? The toughest people have the best policies? Who knew?

If the tories believe in meritocracy, how the fuck did Truss happen?

You missed out the other extreme party - the Greens. Kemi is keeping the common sense in the House. When she's got so many non Tories agreeing with her, she's doing a damn good job. I only wish we were seeing her enter No 10 shortly.

Time to start now. We need to stop reform/restore which are populist bat shit crazy parties with governance which makes the snp look solid. Labour is completely lost on how to grow the economy and can’t or won’t cut the huge and completely unaffordable welfare bill. There’s nothing in their policies for women and have always, imho, been an incredibly sexist party.

if that is the case it doesn’t have anything to do with her sex - the Tory party members aren’t particularly sexist but they can be racist…

Nobody wants to get a job to fill a quote

For a while I felt that quotas might be helpful- it’s lonely being the only woman in the room and I thought that quotas might help change cultures and lord knows there plenty of hopeless men in roles, if some less experienced or qualified women get jobs then so be it.

but I don’t think it has worked to create a culture where genuine female talent can flourish

i have seen business cultures become much less macho over the years, I don’t think women need to be “like men” in style and tone to succeed. But the long hours, travel and flexibility continue to put women off. I don’t think there’s a way to make senior roles less demanding.

Blaming women for not fighting hard enough for the top jobs? I couldn’t agree less.

Yes, I very much agree with her. I don't always like her politics, I definitely don't always like her delivery, but I do think she talks an enormous amount of sense. But then, I've always found the left far more sexist than the right, and sinisterly so. They bang on about 'feminism', but their notion of feminism is patriarchal and patronising; that women need extra help, and female success hinges on men allowing it.

Conservative feminism is to my mind much more equal, where women just go after what they want and sex is entirely irrelevant. So, acting like men, I suppose! It's interesting how many here are determined that successful female Tory politicians must have been given their positions by men, rather than grasping that they went head to head with men and beat them fair and square. It's seemingly so utterly beyond their comprehension that a woman can actually succeed without men orchestrating it for their own nefarious purposes.

Well that doesn’t tally with her ratings as leader, she’s above the men.

I agree that quotas, especially a high one like 50% could mean people assuming that those women aren't qualified for the job and therefore losing credibility.

But unconscious bias is a real thing, as is the gender pay gap and women feeling like they have to work twice as hard to prove themselves. So the idea that an equally qualified and skilled female MP may miss out on a role just because they're female doesn't seem that controversial.

You mean they won't vote for her, not let her? This is exactly the attitude Badenoch is talking about. Women in politics don't need permission - assertive female MPs align themselves with progressive parties.

Why wouldnt they “ let her”? She’s hugely popular. I agree with her. Especially about the stereotyping of powerful women as “ more like men”. I hated Thatchers politics, but she was most definitely a woman!
Lab women always seem to be such mimsy girls.

I don't agree with her politics but she is good at her job but I can't see them letting her do more than be a caretaker leader. We shall see.

Evidence or wishful thinking on your part?

Another fantastic piece from KB. Labour always have to promote the underdog, so of course it pays to keep women in their place. Playing the victim is what gets Labour votes.

Her individual approval ratings are better than the other party leaders at the moment and they are all male.

Exactly, apparently Boris' leaving deal was worse that T May one, but we were meant to applaud a man for going in and getting the job done right

They are not going to let her run as leader in the next General Election. They'll find a man to do that. She's operating on a wishful thinking platform.

She has a point, although I seem to remember most of the candidates were women in Labour's 2020 leadership election.

It is notable that the party which cares much more about identity politics has only ever managed to elect white men as leaders. Perhaps by focusing so much on the sex (and race) of candidates they trigger unconscious sexist (and racist) biases in party members, including stereotype threat among female MPs.

I have noticed in recent years that the left, and especially the unions, are chock full of a particular type of misogynist men. It's quite different from the misogyny on the right - these bros will pay lots of lip service to feminism (or their version of it) while being utterly vile to any woman who does not toe the line. Whether that's 'structural' or simply a large concentration of misogynist lefty bros, I don't know.

I have mixed feelings about AWS. I'm not generally in favour of quotas but when Blair used them to facilitate the election of a huge number of female MPs I think that did reach a sort of critical mass that changed the culture of parliament and the perception of the electorate.

I don't think there should be a quota for Burnham's cabinet. I think Labour just need to sort out their misogynist lefty bro culture and then focus on merit.

This.