News Dr Bridie O'Donnell elected to the board

[The Royal Sampler]

They've been moving toward greater female representation on the board for quite some time, but now with the appointment of O'Donnell it's to suddenly have become an issue. Where was all this dialogue when Holgate was appointed? Where was it when Sizer was appointed? Do you think the desire of the board through both those appointments was any different?

Jackcass nobody here was aware of the $15 million grant contingent on 3/7 of the board being female, 24 hours ago. When would you prefer our cynicism kicked in?

Frankly I don’t care what the make up of the board is, it could be all female as far as I’m concerned, but I’m not a fan of grants being pinned to arbitrary quotas on boards. As has already been pointed out more eloquently by others, the club already has heavy involvement with our netball team and AFLW team, the end product should be far more important than whether we have 28.6% or > 42.9% females on the board.

 

[jackcass]

The circumstances of O'Donnell's appointment caused issues, unlike Holgate and Sizer.

• She wasn't an eligible member to sit on the board at this stage.
• She isn't a supporter of the club.

She (apparently) bought a membership early in 2020 so she's clearly become a supporter, and this isn't the 1st board appointee to have benefited from this exemption unless I'm mistaken. How is her appointment any different to the last time those rules were contravened? Where was the noise then?

 

[Kappa]

I've been on several selection panels where we went in wanting a particular gender or age, but walked away with the opposite, because they were the applicants we considered to be the best.

Was there 15 million dollars in funding on the line if you didn't select one particular group of applicants? If not then completely irrelevant.

 

[Kappa]

She (apparently) bought a membership early in 2020 so she's clearly become a supporter, and this isn't the 1st board appointee to have benefited from this exemption unless I'm mistaken. How is her appointment any different to the last time those rules were contravened? Where was the noise then?

Became best friends with Holgate then the next morning decidedly to randomly become a Collingwood fan after a decade of being anti-collingwood on social media... then a few months later is pushed straight onto the board... yeah, nothing sus there. People in power LOVE people like you.

 

[sr36]

Was there 15 million dollars in funding on the line if you didn't select one particular group of applicants? If not then completely irrelevant.

Yeah, I wasn't aware of the funding when I wrote that.

However, I would have thought that the funding would make us less critical of the club's decision to be preferential with their hiring practices - I doubt there would have been a man with better enough credentials to overcome that sort of financial impact.

 

[JB1975]

Remember the day when only your qualifications and experience mattered, ah the good old days.

As long as you were a bloke, of course.

And white.

And had the right connections, went to the right school.

And espoused the right brand of religion.

For sure, how good were the good old days. Awesome stuff.

 

[Billys Back]

Became best friends with Holgate then the next morning decidedly to randomly become a Collingwood fan after a decade of being anti-collingwood on social media... then a few months later is pushed straight onto the board... yeah, nothing sus there. People in power LOVE people like you.

Do you know that as a fact?
I thought she became a supporter of the Collingwood netball and AFLW teams prior to Holgate approaching her.
In any case, I think Holgate is actually a very strong operator. If she approached O'Donnell, then that's a tick on her credentials and a view she would be a strong contributor to the board.

 

[jackcass]

Jackcass nobody here was aware of the $15 million grant contingent on 3/7 of the board being female, 24 hours ago. When would you prefer our cynicism kicked in?

Frankly I don’t care what the make up of the board is, it could be all female as far as I’m concerned, but I’m not a fan of grants being pinned to arbitrary quotas on boards. As has already been pointed out more eloquently by others, the club already has heavy involvement with out netball team and AFLW team, the end product should be far more important than whether we have 28.6% or > 42.9% females on the board.

The cynicism kicked in fully when she was first announced. This latest speculation just adds to it.

The board has no power to influence the Government grant guidelines. Working for a government department with a strong grant involvement I see it every day that guidelines are specifically targeted to support broader community outcomes. They are what they are. That O'Donnell's appointment enables us to access a grant under those guidelines is nothing more than a bonus. I've seen no evidence to confirm otherwise.

 

[jmac70]

now will you finally admit that Dr Bridie was appointed because she’s female and the male applicants weren’t considered?

Why do I have to admit that?

 

[Good Horse]

Things would have been much better if they had just put a horse on the board.

 

[JB1975]

Things would have been much better if they had just put a horse on the board.

A constant neigh-sayer? I'm not so sure.

 

[sr36]

Remember the day when only your qualifications and experience mattered, ah the good old days.

Yes. It was June 12 2004. That strange day when the following was irrelevant: contacts, appearance, interests, whether the interview panel made a snap decision about your character and suitability based on your answers and body language when responding to a few questions. Not to mention all the other conscious and unconscious biases amongst the selection panel. All of it went out the door on that wonderful day.

 

[jackcass]

Things would have been much better if they had just put a horse on the board.

 

[The Royal Sampler]

Things would have been much better if they had just put a horse on the board.

They are great at separating the wheat from the chaff.

 

[Good Horse]

A constant neigh-sayer? I'm not so sure.

I don't always say neigh. That's a myth. I can nicker. And whicker. I can also whinny, so I'm one letter from being just like human supporters too.

I could spearhead a new polo team venture. Connect with the underrepresented equine market. And anyone in the know can tell you, horse racing gets government money all the time with no oversight, governance or defensible funding criteria so if it's that filthy, filthy government money you want, horses are better than people at attracting it.

Plus, if I get to be on the board, I absolutely will take all the player managers home for some time in my dungeon. Josh loves company, and I just had the St Andrews cross reupholstered. They can leave with a belly button lint sculpture, some new piercings in unusual places, and a deep understanding of and commitment to the need to assist us in remaining under our salary cap while attracting a gun KPF. Or else.

 

[whiskeytown]

Things would have been much better if they had just put a horse on the board.

We’ve already had Mr Ed. Hauled the organisation forth for a good 20 years. Then had to be retired.

 

[jackcass]

We’ve already had Mr Ed. Hauled the organisation forth for a good 20 years. Then had to be retired.

Wilbur wanted him home.

 

[MyManLynch]

Wilbur wanted him home.

Make every post a winner.

 

[Black_White]

Not real happy that CFC is being lead to make board decisions by grants, government or otherwise.
15 million dollars for something that is not at the core value of a football club.
Time for the members to take back control.

 

[barrackers]

Not real happy that CFC is being lead to make board decisions by grants, government or otherwise.
15 million dollars for something that is not at the core value of a football club.
Time for the members to take back control.

Which alternative? It’s been reported that Browne will also adhere to quotas and I assume via a casual vacancy if members don’t vote that way.

 

[Trickster]

Make every post a winner.

By a short neck or long neck?

 

[The Royal Sampler]

Not real happy that CFC is being lead to make board decisions by grants, government or otherwise.
15 million dollars for something that is not at the core value of a football club.
Time for the members to take back control.

No self respecting board member is going to pass up $15m. Doesn’t matter who votes or where.

 

[magpies42]

The cynicism kicked in fully when she was first announced. This latest speculation just adds to it.

The board has no power to influence the Government grant guidelines. Working for a government department with a strong grant involvement I see it every day that guidelines are specifically targeted to support broader community outcomes. They are what they are. That O'Donnell's appointment enables us to access a grant under those guidelines is nothing more than a bonus. I've seen no evidence to confirm otherwise.

Can we fire her after we get the money? Big tick for women on boards getting elected because they pay their way in. Is it just me or is this counter productive, I’m all for promoting greater equality and better representation at executive levels…but it should be earned. As in you get the role because you’re the best candidate, work needs to be done to get more women at the levels below. As far as I’m aware you don’t derive the same level of satisfaction if you’re gifted something. As a tax paper I’m really unhappy that my money is going to waste in this way.

Maybe one of the male board members can identify as female…probably solved.

 

[jackcass]

Can we fire her after we get the money? Big tick for women on boards getting elected because they pay their way in. Is it just me or is this counter productive, I’m all for promoting greater equality and better representation at executive levels…but it should be earned. As in you get the role because you’re the best candidate, work needs to be done to get more women at the levels below. As far as I’m aware you don’t derive the same level of satisfaction if you’re gifted something. As a tax paper I’m really unhappy that my money is going to waste in this way.

Maybe one of the male board members can identify as female…probably solved.

I doubt O'Donnell survives the EGM/AGM regardless of what board we end up with which is a shame. I thought she was an excellent appointment.

 

[Black_White]

No self respecting board member is going to pass up $15m. Doesn’t matter who votes or where.

15 million for what though?
Not one dollar earmarked for the football/netball/wheelchair rugby/AFLW departments.
Not one.
Why do we need to follow a quota to gain something that doesn’t directly further the core objectives of CFC?
I see posts supporting the quota system, and despair at the way the dollar can twist people’s morals.