Canada PoliticsTVO host Steve Paikin called out on Twitter for ‘binders full of women’ blog post
Monday was an eventful day for the Paikin family.
First, 22-year old Zack Paikin, son of TV Ontario host Steve Paikin, made headlines for announcing that he's dropping out of a Liberal nomination race because Justin Trudeau allegedly broke his promise about holding open nominations.
[ Related: Justin Trudeau ‘broke his promise, so I’m withdrawing my candidacy’ says Zach Paikin ]
Later in the day it was Steve Paikin who was at the centre of a Twitter storm.
Paikin's 'transgression' was a blog post he published on Sunday, about having trouble finding female guests for his popular political panel talk show, The Agenda.
Here's an excerpt from his blog:
Why can't we get more female guests? I don't think it's the case that we're not trying hard enough.
In that "Binders Full of Women" program we did [in 2012], we learned some of the reasons why it's so hard to find female guests. For example, if we're doing a debate on economics, 90% of economists are men. So already you're fishing in a lake where the odds are stacked against you. And unfortunately, it's the same for foreign affairs, politicians, the sciences, labour issues, and the list goes on. The vast majority of "experts" in the subjects we cover are men.
But we've also discovered there also seems to be something in women's DNA that makes them harder to book. No man will ever say, "Sorry, can't do your show tonight, I'm taking care of my kids." The man will find someone to take care of his kids so he can appear on a TV show. Women use that excuse on us all the time.
No man will say, "Sorry, can't do your show tonight, my roots are showing." I'm serious. We get that as an excuse for not coming on. But only from women.
No man will say, "Sorry can't do your show tonight, I'm not an expert in that particular aspect of the story." They'll get up to speed on the issue and come on. Women beg off. And worse, they often recommend a male colleague in their place.
While Paikin's heart seems to be in the right place — he really wants gender parity on his show — many took to Twitter to accuse him of sexism.
"@CassJeanCan: @theagenda can't find a woman pundit? Must be hard. We're 50% of the pop. #lazy #excuses #sexism" #WomenOnlyExcusesForPaikin
— Rachel Décoste (@RachelDecoste) March 18, 2014
"No man will ever say, 'Sorry, can't do your show tonight, I'm taking care of my kids.'" - Steve Paikin has lost his dude-bro mind.
— Simon King (@simonkinglaw) March 18, 2014
Oh ho ho. Steve Paikin is PUTTING HIS FOOT DOWN, you guys. He's going to solve sexism in the media, because us ladies cannot. — anne bossy (@bonneanneeray) March 18, 2014
Others mocked Paikin with the hashtag #WomenOnlyExcusesForPaikin
I've been trying to find the studio for an hour but my husband won't let us stop for directions. #WomenOnlyExcusesForPaikin — Emma M. (@MaryTylerMog) March 17, 2014
All of my bras are in the dryer #WomenOnlyExcusesForPaikin — Lyndsay (@HisFeministMama) March 17, 2014
I'm on a cleanse. #WomenOnlyExcusesForPaikin — MM (@buddhaontheroad) March 17, 2014
Have a "visitor" and i'd be so incapable of keeping my sh#?t together. #WomenOnlyExcusesForPaikin — Marit Stiles (@groovystiles) March 18, 2014
I broke a nail. #WomenOnlyExcusesForPaikin — Neville Bossy-Park (@neville_park) March 17, 2014
To his credit, Paikin did respond to some of the criticism.
@tyelland oh c'mon. stop parsing. you know what we're about. we're trying to fix a problem. be helpful, not nitpicky. — Steve Paikin (@spaikin) March 17, 2014
What do you think? Was Steve Paikin's blog post out of line?
Or is he to be commended for trying to address a problem of gender parity on a provincially funded broadcaster.
Let us know your thoughts in the comment section below.
(Photo from Zach Paikin's Facebook page)
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