Objection to women trade commissioners – minute to the Director, Trade Commissioner Services

Women should not be trade commissioners.

Transcript

[Page 1.] 

[Handwritten number '5' in top right corner.] 

[Letterhead: 'COMMONWEALTH OF AUSTRALIA', 'MINUTE PAPER'.] 

[Underlined:] THE DIRECTOR: 

[Underlined heading:] WOMEN TRADE COMMISSIONERS? 

Even after some deliberation, it is difficult to find reasons to support the appointment of women Trade Commissioners. 

In countries where publicity media is well developed, such as North America and England and where there are no other major drawbacks, such as the Islamic attitude towards women, a relatively young attractive woman could operate with some effectiveness, in a subordinate capacity. As she would probably be the only woman Assistant Trade Commissioner in the whole area, as other countries employ women in this capacity hardly at all, she could attract a measure of interest and publicity. 

If we had an important trade in women’s clothing and accessories, a woman might promote this more effectively than a man. 

Even conceding these points, such an appointee would not stay young and attractive for ever and later on could well become a problem. 

It is easier to find difficulties, some of which spring to mind are: - 

(i) Women are not employed, except to an extremely minor degree, as career Trade Commissioners in any known service; [handwritten tick in black ink.] 

(ii) It is difficult to visualise them as Trade Commissioners, firstly because they could not mix nearly as freely with businessmen as men do. Most mens [sic] clubs, for instance, do not allow women members; [handwritten tick in black ink; handwritten star in blue ink.] 

(iii) Relationships with businessmen would tend to be somewhat formal and guarded on both sides. This would make it more difficult for a woman to obtain information; [handwritten tick in black ink; handwritten star in blue ink.] 

(iv) It is extremely doubtful if a woman could, year after year, under a variety of conditions, stand the fairly severe strains and stresses, mentally ['ly' crossed out] and physically ['ly' crossed out], which are part of the life of a Trade Commissioner; [handwritten tick in black ink.] 

(v) A man normally has his household run efficiently by his wife, who also looks after most of the entertaining. A woman Trade Commissioner would have all this on top of her normal work; [handwritten tick in black ink.] 

(vi) If we engaged single graduates as trainees, most of them would probably marry within five years; [handwritten tick in black ink.] 

(vii) If we recruited from the business world, we would have a much smaller field from which to recruit, as the number of women executives in business is quite small; [handwritten tick in black ink.] 

(viii) A spinster lady can, and very often does, turn into something of a battleaxe with the passing years. A man usually mellows; 

[Page] -2- 

[Handwritten number '4' in top right corner.] 

2 -  

Page 2 

(ix) A woman would take the place of a man and preclude us from giving practicle [spelling corrected in blue ink to 'practical'] experience to a male officer. She could marry at any time and be lost to us. She could not be regarded as a long term investment in the same sense as we regard a man. 

[Underlined subheading:] CONCLUSION 

It would seem that the noes have it. 

[Handwritten initials:] AT 

(A.R. Tayson) [underlined.] 

13th March, 1963 

[Underlined subheading:] P.S.  

I have since ascertained the following, which, it would seem, only serves to support the foregoing views –  

[Underlined subheading:] Mr. H.W. Woodruff, U.K. Trade Commissioner: 

They have a few women Trade Commissioners but only in capital city posts, for they have found that women cannot operate where contact with businessmen is necessary. 

The women are fairly senior people from the U.K. Departments and presumably handle trade policy work only. [Sentence emphasised by red line in margin.] 

[Underlined subheading:] Mr. N. Parkinson, External Affairs: 

Since their recruitments of trainees are made under the Public Service Act, there is no way of precluding women from replying [corrected in black ink to ‘applying’,] and in fact, many more applications are received from women than from men. Some are chosen and all appointments are made on the basis of the quality of their educational achievements. About one woman is appointed to every twelve men. This year one out of sixteen, last year one out of twelve and the previous year, none. 

They have to be trained for 18 months before going to their first post. The average marries within five years. [Sentence emphasised by two red lines in margin.] 

It is a very expensive process, but External Affairs lack courage to slam the door because of parliamentary opinion, pressure groups and so on. [Sentence emphasised by two red lines in margin.] 

[Handwritten initials:] AT 

(A.R. Tayson) [underlined.] 

About this record

This is an internal minute from AR Taysom, an officer of the Trade Commissioner Service, to his director and is numbered 4 and 5 on a Department of Trade file called 'Appointment of Female Trade Commissioners (Policy)'. The minute outlines nine reasons why the writer believes women should not be appointed as trade commissioners.

Educational value

Relates to opposition to the first appointment of a woman as an Australian trade commissioner – a trade commissioner works for the Australian Government and is responsible for facilitating business arrangements for Australian exporters in a particular overseas country, trade commissioners usually operate from within Australia's diplomatic missions overseas.
Was written in the context of the proposal to appoint Beryl Wilson (now Moore) as Australia's first female trade commissioner – the proposed appointee had been 'manager' of Australia's Trade Office in Los Angeles for several years; for short periods, Wilson had also previously run an Australian Trade Office in San Francisco.
Demonstrates the strength of opposition to the proposed appointment – some senior officers of the Department argued in written documents against the appointment, and Wilson had to endure verbal hostility when she returned to Australia to be officially inducted into the Trade Commissioners' Service; she also believed that there were efforts to induce medical officers to make her fail a medical examination.
Is evidence of sexist attitudes and terminology – gender discrimination was common in the 1960s but all public servants in Australia today are bound by laws that prohibit the practice; no official could now use terminology such as that used in the document without inviting strong disciplinary action.
Highlights discriminatory practices common at the time – an official of the Department of External Affairs is quoted as having said that the Department had recruited some female trainees but that on average they married within five years; this is a reference to the fact that until the late 1960s women were forced to resign from the Public Service when they married; because of this requirement, many men argued that it wasn't worth training women.
Refers to the director of the Trade Commissioners' Service – the director, KL Le Rossignol, was also opposed to Wilson's appointment; Le Rossignol particularly shared Taysom's belief that a long-term unmarried female officer could turn into 'something of a battleaxe', whereas a 'man usually mellows'; according to Le Rossignol, there had been no alternative but to dismiss some female public servants aged about 50 because they had 'turned into complete tyrants'.
Illustrates the final stage of an unsuccessful bid to block Wilson's appointment – with the support of the head of the Department of Trade and Industry, Alan Westerman, and his deputy, Alan Carmody, the appointment went ahead; Carmody recorded, however, that the appointment related only to Wilson, and it was not to be regarded 'in any sense as a precedent'.

Acknowledgments

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