The chancellor’s job of choosing the next governor of the Bank of England just got slightly easier. A basic requirement of being the nation’s senior central banker is an ability to avoid making crassly sexist remarks. Ben Broadbent, one of four deputy governors and thus an internal candidate for the big job, has just failed the test after describing the UK economy as “menopausal”.
Broadbent’s imagery, apart from being offensive, was also strange. In his interview with the Daily Telegraph, he was trying to describe a period between important technological developments. The idea is that, just as there was a slowdown in growth in the 19th century after the invention of the steam engine but before the arrival of electricity, the UK economy has felt the benefits of the internet revolution and now awaits the next big thing, with artificial intelligence being a possibility.
This phenomenon could be described by using any number of easy-to-understand comparisons. Waiting for the next tube train? Something like that. But menopausal? It doesn’t work, even if one is deaf to the offence caused by the implication that the menopause equates to a loss of productivity.
They take public communication and reputation seriously at the Bank of England these days, as they should. One strand in governor Mark Carney’s “One Mission One Bank” modernisation programme is to open the doors of Threadneedle Street to counter the caricature of policy wonks inhabiting a world of their own. Another is to ensure more women occupy senior roles since the Bank compares poorly to the civil service on that measure. Broadbent’s comment, to put it mildly, won’t help either effort.
He’s apologised quickly and straightforwardly, so his job is almost certainly safe. But the fact remains that any serious candidate for the governor of the Bank has to be trusted to conduct a newspaper interview safely. Remember, they practise for these occasions.
Carney, who will depart at the end of June next year, currently stands accused of baffling everybody by giving mixed messages about the timing of rises in interest rates. But he’s never had to apologise for causing offence.
