Noticeably the feminist, male bashing author did not say anything positive about male board members. Everything about female board members was positive, but not a single positive word said about male board members.

If any person has ever come across a feminist who has ever said even one single positive word about the male gender, please let me known.

Some of the greatest amount of bigotry, discrimination and prejudiced in our society is now coming from those who call themselves “feminist”

Eyecanseeyou, First I’d like to say well done, thank goodness you got your daughter in the end and horrible that it was such a battle for you to just be able to do the right thing by the wee girl.

But I can see if I didn’t have any cash and I wanted out of something and the government made it all possible and would just hand over the means to whatever end I had chosen, then yeah anyone would be tempted. If they have made it easy for females then females are going to use it. This isn’t just because they are females though; this is human nature across both genders. A generation back and it was the men folk enjoying this advantage. I think both men and women here would prefer the better parent gets custody immediately, every single time.

I read your daughters card. It was really nice and she was obviously raised by a good man.

I have been dealing with DoCS caseworkers for a few years now and honestly would not be able to answer your question, the decisions they make on behalf of children usually leave me raging, crying or bewildered. I am so unable to predict them that I live in a constant state of unease wondering what they are going to do next. I’ll stop there before I begin to rant.

So how come you argue with Suzy, SJF etc? Because you actually sound like there is a certain level of agreement going on. And not one of us grrls here is responsible for the law, acts or policies put in place by the government that causes children to suffer by judge’s bad decisions.

Oh and hey congratulations on your engagement to Daphne.

Shuddup Vanna, the author didn’t mention the décor of the boardrooms either or what snacks were available or if the tea lady was efficient because it wasn’t about the other stuff. And right after telling you to shuddup I have to ask – could you define feminist? I could be one in your opinion and not even know it.

Who can forget Sallyanne Atkinson, the ex-Liberal Lord Mayor of Brisbane, who chaired the board of ABC Learning? After blaming the media, bad Karma and goodness knows what for the collapse of ABC Learning, which Sallyanne believed was impossible to go wrong because the child minding industry is propped up by guvvy funds, she opined that as chairwoman of ABC's accident-prone board she did not think she needed any understanding or grooming in financial matters. So much for the fiduciary responsibilities of the Chair and what the hell did she think she was being paid for?

http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,24619261-2702,00.html

With respect to those who are demanding affirmative action for company boards, there are already problems in ensuring that members of boards have the requisite skills and experience and are the best people available.

Ta, TPP.

I'll cheerfully add DoCS to the 50% quota.

Can I further specify that a court-appointed Child's advocate (50:50 sex ratio of course) should attend all CSA and DoCS meetings and review/comment on all legal allegations tendered by either parent?

Given that CSA don't like *any* witnesses present, I'd just love this one, fly on the wall style.

Rusty

TPP 'could you define feminist?'

If you want to be a feminist then telling someone who questions feminism or feminists to 'shuddup' might be a good start. In fact, I think telling anyone who dares to question the sisterhood to 'shuddup' is a prerequisite for feminists, isn't it?

'I have to work very hard at being fair'

This is a common problem among members of the sisterhood and certainly works in your favour.

'Mums get in a lot of trouble for standing by and letting themselves or their children get hurt'

This is staring to look better. Now you're portraying men as the aggressors with women at worst being passive bystanders. See the link below for facts

http://www.aifs.gov.au/nch/pubs/sheets/rs7/rs7.html

This particularly struck me: "Child deaths resulting from parental abuse are unique among homicides in terms of the high proportion of women offenders"

'I know cause the kids told me.'

Oh well. That clears everything up. A 5? 7? 9? year old told you, so it must be true. Again, refer to actual statistics. Eyeinthesky's case demonstrates why 'Hell hath no fury like a man scorned' was not what Congreve wrote.

'I’m also going to have to spend some time thinking about the single mums the kids were taken off; most of these cases had the boyfriend hurting the kids'

Children taken off SINGLE mums = boyfriend's fault. I see what you mean when you say you have to work very hard at being fair. I think the non-feminist response would have been - single mums who feel their partner might pose even the slightest risk to their children need to dump him and move on.

'the wee dot wouldn’t stop screaming every time a male walked in the room'

Good. Emotional scene, unsubstantiaed, one POV only, no context, involves violence or implies violence. In fact, you managed to get fear from not just one man but ALL men in there. Excellent. You qualify as a first rate feminist.

Rusty:”Can I further specify that a court-appointed Child's advocate (50:50 sex ratio of course) should attend all CSA and DoCS meetings and review/comment on all legal allegations tendered by either parent?”

Yep, sounds good. Do they have court-appointed advocates now or you wish them to have them?

Rusty:”Given that CSA don't like *any* witnesses present, I'd just love this one, fly on the wall style.”

There’d be policies about people with clipboards or briefcases attending meetings. It’s probably called the Panic Clause within the Over a Barrel Policy of the CSA.

Dane, I do believe I get to see the worst both genders can do.

Based on the way I phrase my posts you say I am a feminist. Interesting but more a comment on yourself and how you choose to view the world. I just asked hubby if I am. His reply “from my limited understanding of the feminist movement I wouldn’t say so” – yeah he always talks like that, drives me nuts.

I would urge parents to listen to their children though; if this is feminist thinking then it is one they got spot on. A small child terrified of males (the S means more than one) is a bit of a clue in a non-speaking child. One that cringes when any big person approaches them is another clue. All I get is clues, no one has videoed what happened strangely enough.

My point in the message was to break it down to personal observations and stop the stat thing... which reminds me of a quote I heard..