Paula Bennett: No, Tory, the criticism isn’t because you’re a woman

Wellington mayor Tory Whanau. Photo / Mark Mitchell

Opinion:

Not everything is about gender. Yes, some things are, against both men and women but not everything is.

Tory Whanau Mayor of Wellington was interviewed last weekend and was questioned about the criticism she has received about missing meetings. I don’t know how many meetings she has or has not attended and I don’t know the reasons for the meetings she hasn’t got to, so I won’t pass judgement on that.

I do challenge that she made the assertion that the criticism was because she is a woman. No, they’re not. They are because you are in a public job that people will both fairly and sometimes unfairly pass judgement on. They would say the same about a male or trans Mayor.

I have also seen comments when people have played the gender card when National and some critics have said that scrutiny of Ministers Ginny Anderson, Jan Tinetti and Ayesha Verrall are sexist because they’re only getting criticised because they are women.

No, they are not. They are being criticised because they are in big important jobs and are in no way performing to the high standard expected and desperately needed. This is where I could write three pages on all the things wrong in the Police, Education and Health portfolios and how the lack of performance of these three ministers has contributed to the failures.

I don’t have to. You live in the real world and know that our streets are less safe. That more than half of our kids are not even attending school regularly and that you will likely wait more than six hours if you are unfortunate enough to have to go to a hospital emergency department.

I know and have experienced abuse that is gendered. I thought the cruel and unnecessary comments sometimes said about Dame Jacinda Ardern were just plain nasty and not likely to have been said about a male leader. Criticise the policy (or lack of) the delivery (or lack of) but playing the person in a way that is belittling and sexist said more about the person saying them than about her.

As an aside, I welcome her Damehood. She served our Nation as a leader and like many before her, Dame Jenny Shipley, Sir Michael Cullen, Sir John Key and Sir Bill English to name a few deserved the recognition awarded her.

I guess the scrutiny and criticisms pointed at Michael Wood this week – and rightly so in my opinion – will put paid to the gender “picking on women” argument for a while. But next time a woman in a high-powered role that has the means to affect all of our lives by their actions or inactions is criticised don’t play the “woman” card. Perhaps listen to the criticisms and do something about it.