Tesco’s White Chairman of the Board Claimed White Men are ‘Endangered Species’ in Boardrooms
The Chairman of Tesco’s board has come under fire after he made the claim that white men are “endangered species” in boardrooms. According to a report from The Guardian, chairman John Allan was at a retail conference and in a session of aspiring non-executive directors where he said that if you are “female and from an ethnic background, and preferably both, then you are in an extremely propitious period.”
He then reportedly elaborated, saying, “For a thousand years, men have got most of these jobs, the pendulum has swung very significantly the other way now and will do for the foreseeable future, I think. If you are a white male, tough. You are an endangered species and you are going to have to work twice as hard.”
You can imagine how this was received. The Guardian says a lot of people are calling for a boycott of the chain. Twitter users are also taking issue with Allan’s comments, and many have pointed out that most of Tesco’s own board is white men:
“If you are a white male, tough. You are an endangered species”
Tesco’s executive board of directors ??? pic.twitter.com/OKPHEwRCsM
— Lina A Mtengeti-Gadi (@LinaGadi) March 11, 2017
Says the man who chairs a board of eleven, eight of whom are white men…..!!! No words. https://t.co/ZHUtl1aCsM
— Yvette Cooper (@YvetteCooperMP) March 10, 2017
The epitome of white male corporate privilege as demonstrated by @Tesco CEO John Allan. https://t.co/blGNcdWtCa @tesconews #everylittlehelps pic.twitter.com/hGg8UbPjZ5
— Eric Stoller (@EricStoller) March 11, 2017
CONGRATULATIONS to the eight white men on Tesco’s board for getting there on merit alone. Very well done all of you. #inspirational
— manwhohasitall (@manwhohasitall) March 13, 2017
[image via Tony Baggett / Shutterstock.com]
