The Shadow Culture Secretary complained the organisation was guilty of applying double standards.
Speaking at the Royal Television Society Cambridge Convention, she said: “It’s fine for Jeremy Paxman to go grey and grow a beard, but not for a woman.”
Referring to women at the BBC, she added: “Something seems to happen when they reach their 50th birthday.
“It’s like the viewer needs to be protected from the sight of them.
“Here we are in the 21st century, yet you see everywhere the old-fashioned TV format of an older man teamed up with a glamorous younger women.”
The glamorous young woman gets the job because she is young and glamorous. The old guy gets it because he is old and has gravitas.
The young guy does not because he is not old and has no gravitas: the old woman does not because she is not young and glamorous.
Now, if the young women did not get the job for having perky tits and luscious lips then fine, complain about there being no old bags. But since they do …….
Not many women with grey beards on TV you know. I am not sure it is just management’s sexism that does that.
But this is just Sailor’s Law at work. Steve Sailor long ago pointed out that when any female journalist proposed some social reform, it always had the effect of benefiting the type of women proposing it. 24 year old women do not demand men put personality in front of looks. Not if they have any anyway. Ms Dromley is 63. And mostly washed up career-wise I expect.
Although in fairness I don’t think she ever got a job because of her perky tits.
SMFS, you never know how she got her first job; they’re an odd bunch at the National Council for Civil Liberties.
It’s also the case that a lot of women who got the job because of their skills (e.g. Mary Beard, Kirsty Wark, Mary Berry) work past 50.
If you’ve got 2 candidates for reading the news, one in her mid-20s, one in her mid-50s, both can do the job, but one will bring in more viewers because she’s pretty, which are you going to pick?
Tim Almond – “If you’ve got 2 candidates for reading the news, one in her mid-20s, one in her mid-50s, both can do the job, but one will bring in more viewers because she’s pretty, which are you going to pick?”
Well that depends on how reasonable we are all willing to be. If they form a Trade Union the ones in work will prevent you hiring the generation currently failing their O Levels. As happened with the airlines. And on long distance flights, it actually does make a big difference whether the hostess is young, pretty and cheerful or old, ragged, and generally bitter from having to deal with, well, people like me for the past 20 years.
So we laugh now. But in the end these harridans will have their way and we will have to watch Mary Beard clones read the news. Just look at any American airline you like. Or European for that matter – even the ones that should know better like Air France.
Meanwhile, fly Cathay Pacific every chance you get.
Even North Korea puts good-looking women on the telly as newsreaders. Got to keep the comrades’ spirits up somehow, haven’t you?
Fine.
Hire women for their experience from now on.
No more female newsreaders under 45.
Job done.
All young women that feel discriminated against report to Harriet Harperson’s office.
Ahh, double standards.
Despicable. Shouldn’t be allowed.
One solution, for example, is to have women only shortlists for MPs.
And, indeed this used to be a cause championed by Mrs Dromey. It may be mistaken in my view, but hey, at least she had the courage of her convictions.
Oh, except for Birmingham Erdington. The all-women shortlist there was abandoned. Shocking and a blow to wimin everywhere. Shame, but golly gosh, necessity has to intervene in even the most hard-line stances.
I’ve yet to see anyone campaign for radio stations to hire DJs with nasty grating voices.