"Women will decide who wins," Lord Ashcroft, the Conservatives' deputy chairman, told the Conservative Women's fringe meeting today. This was the third year running I had heard this piece of wisdom at a similar event. No one doubts it any longer. So what, the meeting asked itself, did women want?
"To be a bit taller so you can be seen among all those men in the House of Commons," joked Eleanor Laing, the shadow women's minister. "I'm sick of wearing four-inch heels."
No, but seriously: "It's to be treated with respect." (Murmurs of "yes" from the audience.) "That covers everything. ... There's no such thing as a women's issue, but it is a fact that women have a slightly different approach to things than men. The language has to be different. Sometimes it's just a nuance. But that's enough."
"Man is of clay, but it is woman who makes a mug out of him," observed Lord Ashcroft gnomically, to considerable amusement. He had earlier pointed out that diamonds were a woman's best friend and dogs were a man's: "Ladies, you are already ahead."
No comments:
Post a Comment