Dominic Raab: Men Getting Raw Deal/Feminists are Bigots

[zetamale]

Down-trodden men should ‘burn their briefs’ in protest at the ‘obnoxious bigotry’ of feminists, a Conservative MP has said.

Dominic Raab criticised equalities chiefs for ignoring “flagrant discrimination” against male workers, claiming that men were now getting a “raw deal” in many areas of life.
The 36-year-old MP for Esher and Walton made his remarks in an article on the Government’s plan to extend paternity leave for new fathers, saying that this was an area in which the last, Labour government had let men down.
He suggested that, like the feminists who burned their bras in the 1970s, men should start “burning their briefs” to draw attention to discrimination against men.
In an article for the PoliticsHome website, he called for more family-friendly policies rather than those to promote female workers, saying: "While we have some of the toughest anti-discrimination laws in the world, we are blind to some of the most flagrant discrimination – against men.
"From the cradle to the grave, men are getting a raw deal. Men work longer hours, die earlier, but retire later than women.
"One reason women are left 'holding the baby' is anti-male discrimination in rights of maternity/paternity leave ...
"Meanwhile, young boys are educationally disadvantaged compared to girls, and divorced or separated fathers are systematically ignored by the courts."
Female MPs criticised Mr Raab, a former chief of staff to David Davis, the Conservative leadership candidate.
Harriet Harman, the former equalities minister, said: "Women still earn 20 per cent less than men, domestic violence claims the lives of women every week and women bear the brunt of poverty in the developing world."
Nia Griffith, the shadow business minister, called on Mr Raab to "get real and stop being so self-pitying”.
"The reality is that women with very good qualifications time and time again do not get the top jobs and opportunities," she said.
Kate Green, chairman of the Women's Parliamentary Labour Party, said: "The equality and diversity agenda put in place by Labour has been hugely important in levelling the playing field for millions of people in the workplace and we need to ensure we continue to build on its success."
Mr Raab, whose wife, Erika works, in marketing for a major IT firm, also said that there was “more subtle sexism" in play in society, which led to men being subjected to broad negative generalisations.
He wrote: "Men caused the banking crisis. Men earn more because they are more assertive in pay negotiations … "Can you imagine the outrage if such trite generalisations were made about women, or other minorities?
"Feminists are now amongst the most obnoxious bigots. You can't have it both ways. Either you believe in equality or you don't.
"If you buy into the whole Men Are From Mars, Women Are From Venus theory of gender difference – with all its pseudo science – you can't then complain about inequalities of outcome that flow both ways from those essentially sexist distinctions."
The MP suggested that it was now "almost taboo" for a man to question whether the "rapidly dwindling" pay gap was down to discrimination, or "genuine choice".
"Britain's not perfect, and we will never eradicate all human prejudice," he went on.
"But, we have reached a stage where the differences between men and women in our society are less reflective of overt discrimination, and more their common challenge of trying to find the right way to earn a decent quality of life for their family, whilst sparing some time to enjoy it.
"That means taking a consistent approach to equality, ditching outdated gender warfare and finding practical solutions to the challenges couples go through together."

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/news...st-bigots.html

[Zuberi]

Feminists are obnoxious bigots and men have a raw deal: Tory MP calls for male equality

By James Chapman

Tory MP Dominic Raab calls for male equality: Feminists are bigots | Mail Online
Men are increasingly the victims of ‘obnoxious bigotry’ by women and should start ‘burning their briefs’ in protest, according to a rising Tory star.

Dominic Raab, a new MP tipped for high office, said men were getting a ‘raw deal’ from the cradle to the grave following years of anti-discrimination legislation favouring women.

He pointed out women in their 20s are now paid more than their male peers, who work longer hours, retire later and die earlier.

Mr Raab, the 37-year-old MP for Esher and Walton in Surrey and a former chief of staff to David Davis, called for an end to what he called feminist bigotry.

He said men were blamed by society for the banking crisis, discriminated against by parental leave rules which favour women who want time off and ignored by the courts when relationships break down and they seek custody of their children.

Mr Raab suggested men should rise up against what he called the ‘equality bandwagon’, which has pitted them against women since the 1960s, likening the cause to that of the Suffragettes.

‘Maybe it’s time men started burning their briefs, to put to an end once and for all what Emmeline Pankhurst used to call “the *double standard of sex morals”, the MP wrote in an article for the politicshome.com website.

Mr Raab welcomed the Government’s plans to make the system of parental leave more flexible, by allowing mothers and fathers to divide up time off evenly.

He said that sort of policy was more relevant than Labour’s ‘outdated and obsolete equality and diversity agenda’.

‘Take the gender pay gap. The fascinating thing is just how sexist its champions have become,’ he said. ‘It is almost taboo for a man to question the assertion that the rapidly dwindling pay gap is the result of discrimination, rather than genuine choice,’ he said.

‘Yet, research shows the pay gap has halved since the 1970s. Office for National Statistics data in December showed that, since 1997, the difference between full-time median earnings has fallen from 17 per cent to 10 per cent – and the shrinkage is accelerating.

'According to research for the Institute for Economic Affairs, women in their 20s earn one per cent more than men, single women a shade more.

'Gay men earn more than straight men, lesbian women more than heterosexual women. Does that sound like a society *riddled with discrimination?

‘Meanwhile, pay is just one of the terms of employment. Men work longer hours, enjoy their jobs less, commute further and are more likely to get the sack.’

Mr Raab said Britain now had some of the toughest anti-discrimination laws in the world, but was ‘blind to some of the most flagrant discrimination – against men’.

‘From the cradle to the grave, men are getting a raw deal. Men work longer hours, die earlier, but retire later than women. That won’t be fixed for another seven years.

‘One reason women are left *"holding the baby” is anti-male *discrimination in rights of maternity/paternity leave.

‘Meanwhile, young boys are *educationally disadvantaged *compared to girls, and divorced or separated fathers are systematically ignored by the courts.’

Mr Raab – whose wife Erika works in marketing for a major IT firm – said there was also more subtle sexism.

He said: ‘One Financial Times commentator recently complained that: “High-flying women are programmed to go for high-flying men. Most men aren’t attracted to women who are more successful than they are”.

‘Can you imagine the outrage if such trite generalisations were made about women, or other minorities? Feminists are now amongst the most obnoxious bigots.’

But Harriet Harman, Labour deputy leader and former equality minister, said: ‘Women still earn 20 per cent less than men, domestic violence claims the lives of women every week and women bear the brunt of poverty in the developing world.’

Nia Griffith, the shadow business minister, called on Mr Raab to "get real and stop being so self-pitying”.

"The reality is that women with very good qualifications time and time again do not get the top jobs and opportunities," she said.

Kate Green, chairman of the Women's Parliamentary Labour Party, said: "The equality and diversity agenda put in place by Labour has been hugely important in levelling the playing field for millions of people in the workplace and we need to ensure we continue to build on its success."

Labour MP Kate Green, former chairman of the London Child Poverty Commission, said: ‘This is exactly the kind of attitude that shows the Tories are out of touch.’

[dievas]

I've heard it's worse out in the UK than it is here in the USA...

[Marx]

Nia Griffith, the shadow business minister, called on Mr Raab to "get real and stop being so self-pitying”.

Pot_Meet_Kettle.jpg

[dievas]

Wow, a picture is worth a thousand words...

[paul parmenter]

Stone me: a UK MP who has actually woken up and has the guts to speak up. Despite the criticism levelled at him from all quarters, I canot find fault with, or disprove, a single word he is reported as saying.

Now watch as his fledgling political career crashes in flames. He will never get promotion and will be sidelined by his party bosses as a heretic and embarrassment. He will probably be de-selected by his constituency party under extreme pressure from the leadership and various women's lobby groups. You won't see him again after the next election, if he makes it that far.

Telling the truth carries heavy penalties in the UK today.

[johnkimble1]

At last an MP in the House of Commons has stood up for men in this country and said that equality means equality for men and boys too. Dominic Raab MP has certainly put the cat amongst the pigeons in...

More...

[Percy]

Oh, Glory Be.

Email address please.

[Percy]

He needs our support.

Email address, anyone?

[Douglas]

"If you buy into the whole Men Are From Mars, Women Are From Venus theory of gender difference – with all its pseudo science – you can't then complain about inequalities of outcome that flow both ways from those essentially sexist distinctions."

Hoorah! I've been meaning to bring this issue up. Those books - based on the concept of genetic differences between the sexes - have been very high sellers in our society. So do people believe that men and women are the same, therefore there should be equality of outcome, or do they believe that men and women are different, therefore should be treated differently with, at most, equality of opportunity.

If you want to give this man your moral support, even if he isn't your MP, you can send him a note of thanks or congratulations via his web site.

[Douglas]

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[Douglas]

Stone me: a UK MP who has actually woken up and has the guts to speak up. Despite the criticism levelled at him from all quarters...

I have not seen any criticism from a man. I don't say there isn't some somewhere but publicly he seems to be only really getting the (very predictable) critism from feminists (using lies, distortions and that final fallback, the supposed plight of women in the third world).

[Martin E]

Dom's Blog

Contact Dom

[paul parmenter]

My email to Dom, just sent:

Congratulations on your very brave stand against the tyranny and hypocrisy of the feminist movement, and your support for disadvantaged men and boys up and down the country. You are gathering a lot of support at grass roots, regardless of the predictable chorus of pseudo-outrage from the vested interests at Westminster and among the chattering classes.
So keep up the good work; but watch your back. I hope you understand that you may well have scuppered your political career by daring to speak out against the orthodoxy; but you will become a folk hero by doing so. You could be the Rosa Parks of the men’s movement. I hope you know who she was.
BTW, do you have any colleagues who think the same way as you do? If so, can you persuade them to “come out” in the same way? It would be a great bonus for beleaguered men to know there is more than just one small voice in the wilderness supporting their struggles.

[dievas]

Call me American, but what is a "Tory"? Also, what is a "shadow business minister"?