It's the CULTURE, Stupid! Peter MacKay does a John Tory

Ottawa lawyer Jonathan Richardson said MacKay's "immediate answer was, 'Yes there should be more,' but that 'they simply aren't applying.'"

"It just seemed to be this attitude of, 'We don't want to be taking you away, therefore we can justify appointing men to the bench,' - it just seemed this bizarre justification."

The key word, of course, being justification.  We're not rational actors, despite what you might believe - we tend to feel our positions first, then rationalize them afterwards.

As stated at the bottom of the article, there is no statistical evidence that women or people from minority ethnic groups are applying - the fact that MacKay makes that assumption says more about him than it does the broader reality.

As a new father, MacKay is (or should be) acutely aware of the massive responsibility of parenthood, if you care to do it well.  Both parents have the capacity to prioritize the care of their child; diapers, putting baby to bed, even bottle-feeding can be done equally by both parents, if they're willing to dedicate the time.

Which is, ultimately, what it comes down to.  We dedicate time to the things we prioritize.  We're never "too busy" for the things that matter to us; "busy" is an excuse not to focus on the things we see as being of lesser value.

It so happens that we live in a culture that still views men as the primary bread-winner/hunter who not only needs the free time to go out and hunt, but also the bigger portion of meat at home so that they have the energy to do so.

This is a culture that suits men well, as we can easily justify networking events or late hours at the office because we're "busy at work" rather than terrified of extended time watching over a needy, messy, loud and not very engaging baby.  

The only reason men get to do this is (warning: generalization) women pick up the slack.  

Whether this is through personal choice, a biological inclination or social pressure - this last is key - women are more likely to make sure that the important thing that a man doesn't do gets done.  

If encouraging women to stay at home with the kids is about not wanting to take something away, it's about men not wanting to have their freedom taken away.  Or maybe, they're not so sure they could handle that much actual responsibility.

This is a different cut of a common theme - slavery was about off-loading the work we didn't want to do.  Discrimination is about pushing away the people who challenge us to broaden our perspective and make an effort.  Like children who avoid cleaning their rooms or learning to read, a laissez-faire approach to anything is equal parts laziness and discomfort at tackling a challenge head-on.

Enter John Tory.  I pick on him not because I have a position on his mayoralty campaign one way or the other, but because he provided a perfect example of why it is our whole cultural approach to work and equity needs to change.

I will say, when I've had to negotiate, I will say to you the number of men who came to negotiate with me were much higher than women.  Women don't come as often to complain, the men do.

Those were John Tory's words, and they're not far off from the position MacKay takes.

The image we get is of the boss, sitting in his office, waiting for employees to come to him and make the case for why they deserve promotions.  These same employees are making sure to hobknob with the boss on the golf course or at the bar.  The squeaky wheel gets the grease; the boss sees this forceful sales job as indicative of worth and rewards it accordingly.

So - who's doing the actual work while these guys are focusing on selling themselves, or competing?

The women, naturally. 

This is a global, historical phenomenon - women do the hewing of wood, hauling of water and raising of children while the men sip coffee or fight wars.  The justification men use for this model varies from "women aren't tough enough" to "staying at home is actually what they prefer" but at the end of the day, it's all confabulated justification.

Here's where it gets interesting, though.

The history of civilization is the emancipation of women - literally.  The more oppressed and less educated women are, the more disjointed and violent society becomes.  As girls and women are able to pursue education and roles other than home-maker, the more stable, innovative and sustainable societies become.

And that's a reality that is backed my statistics, even if it's an uncomfortable truth for laissez-faire or self-centered, sales-oriented men.

I empathize with Peter MacKay, I really do - I can only imagine how hard it is to absorb the reality that you are the part of the problem that needs to change.  I know all too well how hard it is to wrap your head around realities that differ from your own world-view.

In his defense, it's not about him, though - our whole culture is built on the ignorant assumptions of previous generations.  It's important for him to recognize that we aren't limited to those constraints any more than children are limited to the skills they have at birth, or women are constrained to be home-makers only.

After all, it's by overcoming our assumptions that society has progressed as far as it has.

And we wouldn't want to remove all the progress we've made, would we?  That'd be a little bit like moving backwards when what we need to do, if we want to stay competitive in the global marketplace, is move forward together.