No help to the debate.
R0bert,
I suppose that depends entirely if one is induced to think deeper or not. I would have though the definition of real is vital to any discussion.
To think that so many are given the privilege of casting a vote without having the faintest idea who or what they're ticking a ballot paper for is most disconcerting for those who do think.
Then you have the educated gits who don't know what they have learnt or how to use their knowledge yet imposing their ignorance onto the vulnerable at very turn. The thinking minority is trampled by them because we are a such a great democracy.
Jon J refers to a few brave men & women but who are these "men & women" in reality ? What positive contribution have they or are making ? What contribution do elected people make ? It is mostly those who wh take risks in business who are the people who make the real positive changes. Those academic background bureaucrats never do take changes or risk their cushy for life positions to make a difference. If our present standard of affairs is any gauge then I'd say we'd be better off without their "contributions".
Let real men & women run the show instead of half-backed mere males & females who are confused about their sexuality.

I think we all mistakenly expected that educating women and getting greater numbers into our parliament - and workplaces - would inject a greater level of compassion, and generally lift the tone. What a fallacy that has turned out to be - including in the Family Court. If anything, the game is nastier and meaner than it ever was - with female politicians (or parents) simply crying misogyny whenever they face hypocrisy (or deceit) in the mirror.

Well said Short and Sharp. Especially the bit about the so called Family Court. Plenty of countries have or have had women leaders,or women in positions of power. What about Indira Ghandi, Bhutto, Aquino, Agela Merkel etc.

WTF??

Reading this piece quite genuinely almost brought tears to my eyes, and I'm not just talking about frustration. That a grown man, and someone from the ranks of opinion-forming media figures no less, could take such a puerile, ignorant, and dismissive approach to these issues not only beggars belief, but adds to the ammunition stash of extremists who seek against any measure of good sense to perpetuate gender wars - thus further complicating the positions of people who are genuinely interested and who want to make progress here.

There are very good reasons why Julia Gillard is taking the stand she is, just as there are for keeping out of debates that you know nothing about.

This piece is a sackable offence if ever I saw one.

No doubt I'll get beat up over this. However, after participating in the business world for over 45 years, I have concluded that women actually get a pretty fair go these days. It is also clear that how they are treated by men in the workplace is entirely up to them. If they act professionally and demonstrate competence, then in my experience, men take them seriously, respect them, and don't try to pull any sexist moves.

Having said that, I do consider that there is an analysis to undertake if we really want to understand the issue of gender in the workplace. The fact is that a lot of young men set out on a business career with lofty aspirations, for example to achieve a CEO or board seat on a top 100 company. They equip themselves with a good education, gain work experience, and in many cases seek a second degree to better understand the business environment that they are operating in. And of course, there are a lot of women that set out with the same ambitions, similar qualifications and similar work experience.

The right question to ask (in my view) is how many of the men described above actually achieve their goal compared with how many of the similarly qualified women achieve their goal. Can I suggest that most women who set out to achieve those goals actually get there, whereas, for various reasons, primarily to do with the fact that there are so many more men competing for those positions, that many men fail to achieve those goals.

It is probably a bit too much to ask that such an analysis be carried out - it would make a good PhD thesis - but I would be surprised if it showed that women have a tougher path than men. In fact, I think that the drive to ensure that talented and capable women get a go has resulted in most women who seriously try ending up in those very senior positions.

If we all simply had the interest of this beautiful country at heart we wouldn't have these debates over mindless issues in the first place. Let's discuss important matters.