A kick in the face for feminists

I am depressed.

I think of myself as a feminist, on the whole. I don't think women are better than men, or identical to them in every way. But I do believe in the idea of "different but equal". I don't think there's a job out there that can't be done as well by the right man or woman, and that it's social mores holding both genders back more than it is innate failings.

Yet I find myself unable to tell the difference between three of the most powerful women in the United Kingdom at the moment. And that's only partly because of their hair-dos.

Jacqui Smith: yet more Home Office blunders since she took the top spot.
Harriet Harman: who knows how she got her job, given she was sacked by Labour 9 years ago.
Wendy Alexander: only a few people even know who she is, and they would like to remain anonymous.

They've got a lot in common: they've all been embroiled in rows over dishonesty; they all represent the "working mum"; they've all campaigned on issues of diversity on their rise to power; they all seem to think that hacking people off is a sign they are doing their job properly. Why, oh why, does Labour promote these interchangeable females whose main positive attribute seems to be their gender? (I could have included Hazel Blears on the list.)

There are a couple of more intelligent, dynamic types who have graced Labour's equality campaign (Ruth Kelly springs to mind), but on the whole Gordon Brown seems determined to keep us down by promoting the kind of women who make WOMEN sexist.

Is this the kind of woman who gets promoted by a man? In the police, the promoting is done by men, because most senior police officers are men.

Well, I guess you won't see Bloggsy as Chief Constable any time soon.

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