Last updated at 12:27, Monday, 08 March 2010

No wonder the public sector has financial problems when it offers a salary of £36,779 to a piece of furniture.

It’s there in black and white, in a job advertisement by NHS Cumbria.

The position they are seeking to fill? ‘Chair’.

Not chairman, or chairwoman, or chairperson. Just chair.

Preference will be given to applicants who live in, or have strong connections with, the Cumbria area.

And the attractive salary becomes even more attractive when we consider that this is a part-time position, taking up only 3-3.5 days a week, and giving our chair the chance to earn even more cash by seating bottoms elsewhere.

The successful candidate ‘will need to be able to demonstrate strategic vision and a portfolio of skills such as governance, financial acumen, performance management, relationship-building and the ability to champion change.’

And not to break when being sat on by anyone hefty.

The public sector is a minefield of potential offence. Language is regarded as a dangerous thing, to be shaped and controlled.

So Reiver is not surprised to see the absence of ‘chairman’ or ‘chairwoman’.

But just ‘chair’?

Perhaps ‘chairperson’ is too species-specific.

First published at 11:24, Monday, 08 March 2010
Published by http://www.newsandstar.co.uk