Calling out sexist tirade for what it is
OPINION: I had never heard of businessman and richlister Simon
Henry till lastweek, but I had heard of Nadia Lim. But then, who hasn’t?
She’s a genuine Kiwi icon. You would have had to be living under a rock for the last decade not to know the story of the young MasterChef winner made good; her name is synonymous with healthy food and living.
Her name also happens to be synonymous with success.
When you think of My Food Bag, you thinkNadia Lim. She must surely be one of the most recognisable names inNew Zealand business.
This iswhat seems so unbelievably baffling about Henry’s tirade against Lim as ‘‘a bit of Eurasian fluff’’ and apparent belief that she was featured on aMy Food Bag prospectus either for her sex appeal, or to be PC – rather than the fairly obvious reason that Lim is an important and recognisable brand in her own right.
Henry made his comments to the NBR and his company’s share value has dropped since.
How could Henry even believe his own comments, let alone think it was wisdom worth sharing with the wider world? How could he be so blind to Lim’s obvious success as a businesswoman and entrepreneur? And how could he not know such views would strike most people as incredibly offensive, misogynist and racist?
In the circles Henry moves in, do these sorts of comments even raise an eyebrow? Do people call him out? Or are they too cowed?
Or is the truth even worse than that? Is the real story that the people in Henry’s circle are actually blind to the awfulness of his views? Do they slap him on the back with a guffaw, and praise him for being a straight shooter even?
Is theirs aworld where the success of a youngwoman, particularly awoman of colour, is viewed as being all about politics rather than, God forbid, merit? A world which sees itself as the last bastion against cancel culture and political correctness, emboldening its members to say whatever they like, the more outrageous the better, because it’s guaranteed to earn them ‘‘likes’’, and a knowing, weary chuckle from the rest of their angry cohort.
Should we be worried? Or is Henry’s brain fart just the dying roar of a dinosaur; representative of a shrinking section of society who feel increasingly marginalised in aworldwhere their views are no longer mainstream?
Thankfully the near universal chorus of condemnation from the business community, men and women alike, suggests that if those are the circles Henry moves in, they are mercifully small.
When Food and Grocery Council chief executive Katherine Rich posted in disgust at Henry on LinkedIn, she was deluged with comments in support, from male and female business people alike.
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Nadia Lim, a regular columnist in this paper providing family recipes, was criticised by a rich lister businessman, apparently for being awoman and non-Pa¯keha¯. What do you think of such comments? Email letterstoeditor@stuff.co.nz. You must include full name, home address, contact phone number. Or if you are a Neighbourly member you are pre-verified and can submit using the form on our newspaper page at Neighbourly.co.nz. We do not accept pen names or anonymous letters. For full conditions about letters go to stuff. co.nz/about-stuff
Countless other high profile business leaders have also condemned Henry.
In the world she moved, Rich told me, Henry’s views would be unacceptable and he would be fired without hesitation.
Henry of course owns most of DGL, the chemicals company he founded, but he might find that in the world of business your personal brand actually is important.
Particularly when it says something about your values and ethics and how they might align with your customers and shareholders.
Tracy Watkins is editor of the Sunday Star Times andwas political editor and bureau chief for Stuff.co.nz. Subscribe to the Sunday Star Times via subscribers@stuff. co.nz.