5 because I am a very humble person, I have put the most important request last. Can we do something about the appalling under-representation of women in our industry, particularly at the top and particularly in technology? Yes, I know that Naomi Climer has just been appointed the president of the IET, but she remains, sadly, something of an exception. The IBC Daily Executive Summary, which reflects the views of the great and the good, this year includes 49 interviews. Of those, just five were female: Delia Bushell of BT, Joan Gilman of Time Warner, Muki Kulhan and Fran Unsworth from the BBC, and Laurence Miall-dAout of TV Beat.
As I write this, social media is buzzing with the news that a technology start-up conference organised by Telefnica in London was treated to a cheerleading show. The break entertainment at an event for innovators in technology was a bunch of girls with large pom-poms. Really? Has my binge-watching of Doctor Who transported me back to the sixties?
Also in the news today is a story that HSBC is to black out the names on CVs as part of its drive to get more women into senior jobs. It is a sad day when our great industry has to take management advice from a bank.
Thank you Santa. If you can bring me any of those gifts I will be eternally grateful. And once I have unwrapped all my presents and made myself sick by eating too much of the chocolate orange, my thoughts will turn to New Year resolutions.
I would like us all to be nicer to each other. There is too much nastiness on television. I know that The X Factor has probably reached the end of the line so we have no need to listen to Simon Cowell tearing hopefuls to pieces. But television still supports the likes of Jeremy Kyle, and it really should not.
Let us hope that 2016 sees us all nicer people, sticking up for better technical and creative standards, but asking for them politely. In return, I promise to try to be less disfluent. |