It’s International Women’s today tomorrow and to celebrate the ABC is set to replace all its male presenters (radio and TV) with fill-in females for the day.
A day off for the boys and a celebration of the public broadcaster’s female talent, right? Well, as anything to do with gender politics and the ABC proves, the idea’s proving about as popular as Tony Abbott at a CFMEU rally.
Youth broadcaster JJJ will also only feature female artists and presenters all day tomorrow.
Already many are complaining its tokenistic to celebrate female talent one day a year, while others have wondered why men need be banned for women to get on-air roles.
You can read the ABC’s full statement on its International Women’s Day plans here.
Leading the anti-ABC charge is Sky presenter and former Liberal staffer, the unflappable Peta Credlin, who told The Daily Telegraph: “This is nothing more than a token gesture by the ultimate organisation of tokenism, the ABC.
“Where’s their commitment to women over the other 364 days of the year? Surely we want the best in the media all day every day, be it men or women,” Credlin said.
Labor MP Anne Aly added: “It’s a bit tokenistic to me. Gender equality is more than just that.”
Former ABC chairman Maurice Newman also labelled the idea as “tokenism” and said the ABC was “getting further and further into victimhood and division”.
While ABC presenter Tom Switzer argued journalists should be judged on their merits and not their gender.
