Sunday 31 May 2009

M&S Chairman Not Sure How Babies Are Made...

M&S Chairman Sir Stuart Rose has just expounded on the prospects for women in the workplace.

I'm sure this'll get around the blogosphere like swine flu, so I won't comment on the whole article, but I couldn't help noticing this particular foot in mouth comment:
"Well, childbirth is a biological fact. Women have children; I can't help that," he said.
Sorry to hear it, Sir Stuart, but I think Pfizer might be able to help...

7 comments:

Sue said...

I feel like kicking him in the nuts actually!

JuliaM said...

That'd certainly decrease his chances of 'helping'..!

Simon said...

I haven't been into M&S for about a year because I can't stand the eco nagging you get from the people on the till. Thought I'd try again yesterday. Nothing's changed, usual holier than thou statements about the money for the bag going to charity.

I thought I'd look up the charity the money goes to. It's called Groundwork ("charity" no 291558). It's a glorified Quango posing as a charity. Here's a statement from their website.

"Each year Groundwork generates and invests more than £100 million in practical activities to support regeneration in the country's most deprived neighbourhoods.

This money is secured from a variety of sources including the UK Government and devolved assemblies, local authorites, the private sector, charitable trusts, the European Union, the National Lottery and from individual legacies and donations."

They got £42 million over the last 3 years from The Department For Communities & Local Government (Prop. Arch fiddler Hazel Blears) plus God knows what from the EU and other sources. All our money.

I'm surprised at M&S being involved with one of these fake charities, you'd think they would know better. Think I'll write to them and demand my 1.85p back or tell them to give it to a real charity. This is not the sort of behaviour you expect from a stalwart of the Establishment. But then again...

John M Ward said...

Well, okay, I didn't do biology at school so am no expert; but it sounds as though he is technically correct. Is it not the case that females have the babies and that cannot be changed by anything that man can do — despite the best efforts of Arnie in the film "Junior".

I gather there are (apparent rather unpleasant) processes involved in generating the baby; but as a lifelong non-practitioner in any of that stuff I for one can confidently state that no baby is the fault of anything I have ever done.

Thus I do have a certain degree of empathy with Sir Stuart's comment.

John M Ward said...

Oh, and I do know that they are delivered by storks…

Anonymous said...

Surely the English have forgotten how to have babies - that is why they import loads of foreigners to do it for them.
Is not this what diversity is all about?

JuliaM said...

"I thought I'd look up the charity the money goes to. It's called Groundwork ("charity" no 291558). It's a glorified Quango posing as a charity."

Good grief, I thought WRAP were bad! £42 mill....

"..females have the babies and that cannot be changed by anything that man can do.."

I expect that to change in the next, oh, 20 years or so. Pretty sure some mad scientist is already working on it somewhere.

"Is not this what diversity is all about?"

I'm beginning to think so...