When I was 10 years old, it mattered to me that Britain had a female prime minister. I had no concept of her political affiliations, her party’s policies or any other party’s policies. In 1979 I was blissfully ignorant of all but the fact that Margaret Thatcher was a woman. Until that time, the only women that I was aware of doing jobs as important or as fun as the jobs I saw men doing were Virginia Wade and the Queen. So it was a seminal moment in my career education: If Margaret Thatcher could be the prime minister, I could be the prime minister. It was a childish, simplistic and overly optimistic conclusion; but I believed it. Fast-forward 37 years, and now Britain is to have another female prime minister (May takes fast track to No 10, 12 July). She is no more likely to achieve social equality or tackle gender discrimination and sexual violence, hate crime, the refugee crisis, corporate corruption or exploitation of vulnerable workers than her male predecessors. And since I am no longer 10 and now have a modicum of understanding of political affiliations and party politics (and a hugely expanded list of female role models),… Read full this story
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