EU Proposes To Ban the Family

From the Daily Mail

Books which portray ‘traditional’ images of mothers caring for their children or fathers going out to work could be barred from schools under proposals from Brussels.

An EU report claims that ‘gender stereotyping’ in schools influences the perception of the way boys and girls should behave and damages women’s career opportunities in the future.

Critics said the proposals for ‘study materials’ to be amended so that men and women are no longer depicted in their traditional roles would mean the withdrawal of children’s classics, such as Enid Blyton’s The Famous Five series, Paddington Bear or Peter Pan.

The document, prepared by the European Parliament’s Committee on Women’s Rights and Gender Equality, also suggests EU-wide legislation is needed to tackle the way women are depicted in advertising during children’s television programmes.

It further complains about the number of women in EU parliaments, and floats the idea of fixed quotas on a minimum proportion of female MPs.

The report says: ‘Children are confronted with gender stereotypes at a very young age through television series, television advertisements, study materials and educational programmes, influencing their perception of how male and female characters should behave.

‘Special educational programmes and study materials should therefore be introduced in which men and women are no longer used in examples in their ‘traditional roles’, with the male as the breadwinner of the family and the female as the one who takes care of the children.’

The proposal to regulate the ‘traditional’ family values which have been used as justification for gender equality legislation signifies an Orwellian dystopia where the state hopes to subsume family values for state values, impose state control over the citizenry to the individual level via indoctrination or through the control of people’s thought and speech, substitute dependency on the state and the disintegration of the family and the individual, and importantly, the worship of the state. 

[This resonates with the local version of ‘I am the start of change’ being subliminally impressed upon by politically controlled mainstream media to inculcate docility and conformity to the government through the abstract virtues of supposed ‘selflessness’ and through nationalism]

Yet these are signs of desperation from EU’s political elites whom have been groping for the preservation of their privileges and entitlements amidst the rapid deterioration of the incumbent parasitical political economic institutions.

World’s Richest Women are Chinese Entrepreneurs

That’s according to the Hurun Rich List, where seven out of 10 of the world’s wealthiest self-made women are from mainland China, most of whom made their fortune from real estate and manufacturing

According to Finance Asia (table theirs too) [bold mine]

It is not surprising that most of these women made their fortune from real estate, the country’s most profitable industry, and are headquartered in Guangdong, the cradle of China’s entrepreneurial spirit.

Zhang Xin, chief executive of Soho China, has said that Chinese women enjoy many freedoms and opportunities in the country’s private business sector — more so than their foreign counterparts.

China’s dominance in the top 10 world’s wealthiest women list seem to coincide with the gender distribution in their domestic workforce, where China ranks 3rd in Asia in terms  of women managers, and ranks, second in the world female labor force participation rate according to table from the Economist.

In the world of economic freedom, gender distribution (politically coded as “inequality”) barely becomes an issue as “freedoms and opportunities” are democratized. 

Political Dynasties, Female Political Leaders and the Philippine Setting

In the world of politics, gender inequality has been narrowing as female politicians have been increasing around the world (but still remains low overall).

But in many areas, the growth of female politicians seems more representative of a symptom of a chronic disease known as political dynasties.

From the Economist, (emphasis added)

YINGLUCK SHINAWATRA, whose party won Thailand’s general election and who is the country’s presumptive prime minister, is far from the only female relative of a former leader to have taken over the family political mantle (Yingluck is the youngest sister of Thaksin Shinawatra, the prime minister ousted by the army in 2006). As our table shows, there are at least 20 such figures now active in politics, including three presidents or prime ministers and six leaders of the opposition or presidential candidates. (The region most receptive to female dynastic leaders seems to be South Asia. Two of the last three presidents of the Philippines have also been related to former presidents.) Historical figures are not available for comparison, but it is hard to think of any period when so many such women hold high political office. A remarkable number are daughters or other relatives of former strongmen: they are influential in Ghana, France, Peru, South Korea, Guatemala, Kazakhstan and Italy. Perhaps women are thought best able to soften an authoritarian family brand, and make it more acceptable in a democracy.

Such malady especially applies to the Philippines.

Here is a roster of 12 popular mother and son political “tandems” (yahoo)

Cory & Noynoy, Gloria & Mikey, Imelda & Bongbong, Loi & Jinggoy, Guia & Jv, Elenita & Junjun, Lani & Jolo, Glenda & Ruben, Jr, Nikki & Julian, Letty & Ranjit

There about 250 political dynasties in the Philippines (New York Times 2007) and this number has been growing. The 14^th Philippine congress has an estimated more than 75% of lawmakers from old political families (Wikipedia.org).

As I earlier pointed out,

And how do you sustain political dynasties? By systematic redistribution. The above board taxes generated from the local economy are used to pay off voters indirectly by virtue of massive welfare programs [e.g. free movies, free health care, senior citizens discount and etc...] or directly (vote buying) during elections. For instance, local authorities discreetly allow people to squat on empty government and private lands and are given protection from doing so in exchange for votes.

Female leaders are hardly about instituting ‘puritanical/moral’ reforms or about representation of particular issues or political sectors in the conventional wisdom. Instead, most of these women leaders essentially ‘represent’ extensions of family interests in their respective political domain.

I understand that there is a pending anti-dynasty bill (HB 3413) being deliberated in the Philippine Congress (abs-cbnnews.com)

An anti-dynasty bill that limits tenure WILL NOT remedy a disease brought about by the addiction to power over the political distribution of resources, as there will always be legal loopholes to circumvent. In fact, some of the women leaders (which include the other relatives) have been embodiments of systematic legal bypass over term limits on legislative branch and the local government(Wikipedia.org).

The only solution to a problem of political inequality (centralization) would through market distribution (decentralization). In short, economic freedom serves as the only genuine antidote to political dynasties.

Gender Equality: Women's Growing Role In The Society

Below is an interesting chart from the Economist.

The Economist writes,

A CENTURY ago, women were scarcely allowed to vote, let alone stand for

election. Today women hold seats in parliaments across the world, and in one case are even in a majority. This is one of many achievements that will be celebrated on March 8th 2011, which marks the 100th anniversary of International Women's Day. Policies and quotas have helped women in politics and in business. In Norway, women make up nearly 40% of board members of the largest listed companies. Yet on average across Europe they only occupy one in every ten board seats. This may improve, with more women than ever now in the global business-school pipeline. In 2010, nearly 106,000 women sat the GMAT exam, an MBA entrance exam, accounting for over 40% of examinees. In the OECD, a club of mostly rich countries, 61% of women are active in the labour force. But the difference in male and female employment rates in many countries is still large and persistent. While progress has been made, there is a long way to go before gender equality is reached.

As people around the world learn to embrace the tenets of the division of labor, women will certainly play a greater role in the society.

Gender Inequality In Post Graduate Earnings

Interesting observation from the Economist on post graduate earnings comparison between genders.


According to the Economist (bold highlights mine),

``UNIVERSITY offers more than the chance to indulge in a few years of debauchery. A new report from the OECD, a rich country think-tank, attempts to measure how much more graduates can expect to earn compared with those who seek jobs without having a degree. In America the lifetime gross earnings of male graduates are, on average, nearly $370,000 higher than those of non-graduates, comfortably repaying the pricey investment in a university education (female graduates earn an extra $229,000). In South Korea and Spain female graduates pull in a lot more than their male counterparts. In Turkey, although the additional wages are more modest, the difference between men and women is far less pronounced."

OECD in a press release makes additional notes where male ROI (on earning/learning) have been higher in most instances... (emphasis added) [note I haven't accessed the complete report]

``The average net public return across OECD countries from providing a male student with a university education, after factoring in all the direct and indirect costs, is almost USD 52,000, nearly twice the average amount of money originally invested.

``For female students, the average net public return is lower because of their lower subsequent earnings. But overall the figures provide a powerful incentive to expand higher education in most countries through both public and private financing...

I would comment that much of this outlook is more a function of the financial perspective and omits social aspects (role of maternal or child bearing women on lower wages) based on the press release.

The OECD adds, (again all emphasis mine)

``Among other points, the 2009 edition of Education at a Glance reveals that:

``The number of people with university degrees or other tertiary qualifications has risen on average in OECD countries by 4.5% each year between 1998 and 2006. In Ireland, Poland, Portugal, Spain, and Turkey, the increase has been 7% per year or more

``In 2007, one in three people in OECD countries aged between 25 and 34 had a tertiary level qualification. In Canada, Japan and Korea, the ratio was one in two.

``In most countries, the number of people who leave school at the minimum leaving age is falling, but in Germany, Japan, Mexico, Poland, Turkey and the United States their numbers continue to rise.

``Early childhood education is growing fast, and nowhere more than in Sweden. On average in OECD countries, enrolments have risen from 40% of 3-4 year-olds in 1998 to 71% in 2007; and in Turkey, Mexico, Korea, Poland, Sweden, Switzerland and Germany enrolment in early childhood education more than doubled.

``Young people who leave school at the minimum leaving age without a job are likely to spend a long time out of work. In most countries over half of low-qualified unemployed 25-34 year-olds are long-term unemployed.

``People who complete a high-school education tend to enjoy better health than those who quit at the minimum leaving age. And people with university degrees are more interested in politics and more trusting of other people."

Well, the OECD seem to omit the impact of minimum wages in the role of unskilled and school drop-out unemployment figures.

The outlook appears skewed towards promoting government spending in education.