R.I.P. Maggie

Before Indira, Angela, hopefully Hilary and, dare I say it; our Julia there was Maggie. A trailblazer and iconic figure of the 20^th century, she passed away yesterday from a stroke which followed declining physical and mental health over the last ten years.

The voice, the hair, the blue power suits, not to mention her policies and leadership, for us children of the 80’s, her long tenure over our teenage years meant she embodied many our first memories of Britain as we made our way into adulthood. For fans of the brilliant BBC TV series “The Young Ones”, who can forget Rick’s sustained attacks on Maggie’s conservative government?

Far more informed and learned scholarly writers than I will no doubt devote many column inches to the good and the bad of the Thatcher Years. My take on her commanding and sometimes brutal style of governance is an open admiration of what she would have had to endure and overcome to become the first (and only) female prime minister of Britain. If only half of what was depicted in Meryl Streeps’ pitch perfect portrayal of her in "The Iron Lady" is true, then she deserves all the accolades and eulogising (begrudging or not) that will come her way in the next few weeks.

I may have my rose-coloured glasses on but as I remember Margaret Thatcher and contrast her conviction and determination to transform Britain with her unpopular policies to the back flipping, spin doctoring style of our current leaders (male and female) I am overcome with ennui towards politics that is depressing. Damn it, I’m 45 and ready to care about what Australia will look like for my children and grandchildren. Like the single girl pining for the love of her life to show up, when is the leader of my dreams going to appear? Who is going to make me care?

If we give them the benefit of the doubt, we can assume most politicians start out with noble intentions to serve the community. To rise through the ranks of politics necessitates compromises and an ability to make favourable connections and affiliations that will act as a support base for any individual with leadership aspirations.

Yet, time and again, the reality of the “system” becomes apparent. We need to go no further than the unceremonious deposing of Kevin Rudd by the “faceless men” of the Labor party and Tony Abbott’s current inability to spell out with any conviction or authority his intended policies or “narrative”, as it is now termed, to highlight what defines modern politics in Australia.

If a leader (incumbent or aspiring) dares to state their thoughts or position on a contentious issue, the next morning “statement remorse” sets in and finds them running scared of what the next Nielsen poll will show. When inspiring leadership by definition requires a statement of vision, what hope can we have to feel loyalty to any politician when they are hobbled by constant inward looking speculation and analysis of their popularity.

This is why Malcolm Turnbull is compelling for many people. He has an opinion and sticks to it for more than a five second sound bite. Of course his neck isn’t on the line anymore so that makes it way easier to speak your mind but I can’t deny he has a statesmanlike air that is appealing.

And it’s why I give Julia points. However unsavoury the manner in which she became leader, Julia has shown fortitude and resolve in the face of scathing personal and professional attacks to continue to lead Australia and implement policies that the population may or may not agree with.

Sound familiar?

I suspect history will be a lot kinder to Julia Gillard like it has been for Hawke, Keating, Howard et al. Hindsight tends to do that.

So, draw near and listen close, Tony. If or when on September 14 you are unshackled from the policy clarification limbo we currently exist in, cut the BS. Tell me what you believe in for Australia. And why. And don’t backtrack if there’s a dip in the polls. I may not always agree with you but I’ll respect you for having the courage of your convictions without always having an eye on how you can stay in power.

We can all take a leaf out of Maggie’s book on that.

Leaning In and Out

A few weeks ago in her article in “Superwoman? Where?” Tracey Spicer highlighted the frustrating challenge of women and superannuation. Read it here if you haven't yet. She hit the nail on the head in so many ways and I commend her for it and her role as Super Champion for International Women’s Day. We need high profile women like Tracey to speak up on this topic.

Allow me to delve a little deeper into these issues.

For women who remain single, childless and independent for the duration of their lives it is stating the bleeding obvious to them about the need to provide for their retirement.

More complicated is when we are in relationships. Which, let’s face it, is a good proportion of us at some point in our lifetimes. People tend to see financial advisers as a couple when they are a couple. Not always, but we are talking generalities here so bear with me.

When a couple is working out what their income sources in retirement are, they look at the picture as a whole. If she has $28,000 in super and he has $500,000 then the income is worked out on the total asset position of $528,000. At that point, assuming the couple is in a committed relationship, nobody’s worrying too much about the inequity.

The kicker comes when relationships fall apart. Suddenly, for reasons of guilt, greed or expediency the contribution of the non-or part time working spouse can lose its value in the eyes of the career partner.

Of course, this is meant to be dealt with in divorce settlements but all the statistics show that men recover financially a helluva lot quicker that women if there is disparity in earning power. I am not saying that men don’t suffer financial consequences – very few people emerge from the financial settlement process saying “Gee that was just fantastic and I am so happy with the outcome of my divorce” – but on separation the reality check that you don’t take your partner’s income and future earning capacity with you hits home.

In the aftermath of divorce no decision you have made is left unquestioned. I have spent many hours asking myself how and why I found myself to be in the position where, when equally educated and qualified as my ex-husband, his earnings are exceptional and mine are, well, not so much. What I came to is this. I did not value my human capital.

I once heard that the biggest and best asset you have is your human capital – the talent, experience and qualifications you build up over a lifetime that add up to your ability to earn an income. Yes, there is huge structural, gender and historical issues that come into play to make the issue a complex one for women but we need to be asking ourselves some hard questions, too.

When I hear Sheryl Sandberg, the COO of Facebook and author of a recent book called “Lean In: Women, Work and the Will to Lead”, talking about women “leaning in” to their careers and not “leaving before you leave” I know exactly what she is on about. I was “leaning out” in the early days of my career with a deep desire for children and to be a homemaker. My behaviour, actions and decisions around my career have had a consequence. Although I made them for what I thought was “for the good of the family” I paid a price – in financial terms as well as self-esteem and confidence.

Of course, not everything comes down to the mighty dollar. Life is more than just some black and white number representing earning capacity or a superannuation balance. I loved being home raising my children in their early years and I still love it now when they are older.  But I am much more conscious of the consequences of my decisions than I was when I was 27 and pregnant with my first child.

In my opinion, having this discussion with future generations is key. Younger women can learn from our wisdom and different experiences. I want my daughters and nieces to understand, protect and treasure the value of their education, their job choices and opportunities and the huge potential that resides within each of them.

I’ll end with where Tracey got to – Let’s pop our undies over the top of our clothes and become real Super Women!