So as the approach to conference reaches fever pitch there is much excitement on the telecoms side about the planned changes and what, more importantly, they mean for people and positions. This has culminated in one of the slates getting so excited they have prematurely despatched their preferred list in case the changes all go through. As a mere observer of these things I have to say there is some good news and some bad news. Nearly all the good news is about who's going and nearly all the bad news is about those hoping to stay. The changes mean that more lay reps will have quasi national positions, which may or may not attract facility time and again there is significant jockeying for position....I will say the ineffectives (as I believe some still call them despite their name change from Effective Left to LAN) have pulled together a decent gender split. I suspect the Broad Left (BL) will not be able to field any kind of gender split as they are both telecoms dominated [LAN are all telecoms] and engineering dominated, the clerks having walked out on them many years ago, shortly after Tony Young (sorry, Lord Anthony) was elected General Secretary of the NCU. Since the engineering community is overwhelmingly male, my suspicions are that so will their slate. The LAN have also not fielded any women from the constituency formerly known as engineering.
So where are the women engineers and why are they not standing for the executive? The BL currently has one woman on their slate but there are others out there. Its not like the male talent is outshining the women! The fact is that women get a harder time in the organisation. Over the past few years I've watched women being bullied out of their branch or sidelined or threatened with extinction if they don't toe the line. Are all these women saints, am I making them martyrs for the cause? Well no, they make mistakes, one in particular was incredibly naive. But women don't get to make mistakes, one slip and they have failed. If they are shining at all, they become a threat to the hierarchy at whatever level and must be taught a lesson. This happens across all the current constituencies but from a telecoms perspective is sometimes more obvious in the engineering constituency where there are fewer women to start with. While the merging of the constituencies is a good thing I fear it may mask some of the issues we have with bringing women through the organisation and may well foster the view that if I can survive then so can others; that women have to 'toughen up'; that if you have talent you will shine through. I genuinely hope they are right.
Out with my good friend Ed last night. Ed is Chair of ACAS and therefore gets involved in all sorts of interesting stuff, not least of which is the BA dispute. Sadly the consummate professional he doesn't gossip about it! We had a great time however gossiping about people we knew when we worked together and a fair number who are still or have become mutual acquaintances. Ed is unfailingly supportive and always makes sure I know he thinks I'm brilliant. However, too much wine and an almost fatal decision to have a Vecchia Romagna after the meal have left me a tad delicate this morning.
Don't shout x
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