So don’t look out for a ‘Vote Conservative’ woman to woman bus of any size or colour

Labour’s shocking pink van/mini bus was a very good idea in someone’s head. But in reality it’s patronising, self-serving and a very, very bad idea. Not because I disagree with most of what the Labour Party does and say. It is a bad idea because it insults women’s intelligence, belittles and pigeonhole’s them into a stereotype, and then back-slaps them into the dark ages.

It’s a terrible idea because it represents everything women everywhere worked hard to not be labelled as — pink, fluffy and can’t hold their own!

Women in the Twenty First century don’t want to be separated from men, dressed in pink and treated differently. Modern women don’t need a different message coming out of a Barbie bus relayed by women in pant suits who think equality is a quota, a threshold, a number and a target to be reached by a certain date.

Today’s women want equal opportunity, equal pay and don’t need special measures to get either.

Most of us know and understand that we are behind the curb in many fields, but we also understand and pride ourselves by what we have achieved and how far we have come. We don’t want special treatment when what we deserve is equal treatment. We don’t want applause if the result doesn’t warrant it. We know our worth, our value and what we are capable of achieving. It’s there for all to see in hospitals, schools, small and large businesses, in Parliament and on the history books.

In the United Kingdom, women achievements are everywhere for all to see and they don’t need a pink bus to prove it.

This bus is a mockery. It ridicules hardworking women and their abilities and makes light of what they achieved throughout the years. It is nothing but a political ploy to say to the voting public, look at the Labour Party. But is anyone surprised? Not at all, because it is coming from the party that says to women you are not equal to men, you are incapable of going it alone and can never be an individual. We don’t trust you to make it on your own, so we will put you on a ‘Women’s Only Shortlist’ when you apply to become a Member of Parliament, this way you have a better chance of getting selected. And, we will work very hard to introduce the same system in all aspects of life and every profession, just vote us in.

Labour, Harriet Harman and all those who held women back by not trusting and believing in them. Those who thought by dumbing down others’ abilities they were helping need to be ashamed of themselves.

Today women are in Space conquering new frontiers, in Politics leading nations, in the operating theater performing lifesaving surgeries, in academia preparing the best minds for the future, in the battlefield protecting the weak and defending borders.

Women are everywhere and in every field and they mostly got there on merit, hard work and the desire to be the best they can possibly be and did not need a pink van to realise any of it.

Never understood why use social engineering to paint over serious issues such as equality is the preferred choice of reforms for socialists? When fair and equal recognition, even if they take longer to fruit, give the same outcome with lasting effects!

Women, especially those who excel or aim to achieve via equal competition, don’t want a handout but can do with a hand up and removing manmade obstacles. Setting quotas and engineered targets are handouts socialists used through the years to further their cause. They (quotas) undermine and demean woman and their long struggle to be recognized as an equal and able partner, these targets, at best scream inequality and at worst inability. That’s why I never understood lefties’ fascination with them and other social engineering quick fixes.

Women issues matter a great deal, but they will be better served by educating everyone that the two genders although different are equal. This equality can be best learned by example, by merit and fairness of action not tokenism, targets and box ticking exercises. Give those women worthy of advancement full equal opportunity. Allow them to excel and become a guiding light and a shining example for future generations, and equally demote those women who do poorly, lag behind and underperform.

In other words be fair and just across the board. That’s how society can properly promote women and all communities.

Headlines that read “FTSE 100 firms still not hitting targets for women directors” and “UK Firms Fall Short Of Targets To Appoint More Women To Boards” always worry me!

First, because it seems these days we are too obsessed with social engineering to appease the few and appear “progressive” when what we should concern ourselves with is the empowerment and equal opportunity for the many, to allow everybody to progress on merit and ability not some mad desire to seem what we’re truly not!

Secondly, women are already under enormous pressure on a daily basis, most women every day juggle many hats and make a difference to most lives they touch – from shaping our future generations to affecting communities, policies and businesses. What women need is appreciation and supports not a constant reminder that it’s the twenty-first century and they are lagging behind in this sector or the other. It’s undermining and demoralizing.

Plus, the notion that women should be fifty percent of everything because they make about fifty percent of the population is utterly absurd. There are many fields where women dominate and men are equally capable but don’t. However, there doesn’t seem to be this crazed obsession with men lagging behind in those fields!

Of course it is better to have every segment of the society represented, because diversity breeds variety. But force feeding women to organisations is not the answer. We might be behind the curve, but pushed and rushed appointments might initially impress, however, like most baseless novelties long-term they will falter or even become counterproductive.

As a woman, I find it heartwarming to see women in powerful positions. But it is not enough to say we need women to sit in the boards of the biggest companies and therefore we should make it a tick box exercise and a quota! Women, especially those who reach these highest will only be undermined by such exercises.

The best service we can give women of all backgrounds is to respect them, believe in them, give them the opportunities to be the best they can be and trust them to deliver their best. Forget the quotas and the fudged targets and let’s accept that we dropped the ball some time ago but now are working to fix it.