Equality.

Why have we travelled such a short distance in the emancipation of women in the work place? There is still resistance both in the system for change and also in the psyche of women. Today in this Elizabethan age we should doing better and there is an initiative being launch by Maria Miller the Minister for Women and Equalities to assist the process under the auspices of - Women's Business Council (EBC). The working group will be chaired by Ruby McGregor-Smith, chief executive of Mitie, a FTSE 250 company. Creating a sense of ambition in women starts from the cradle. Getting them to think in bigger horizons is necessary, and its not anti-feminine to be ambitious. The other side of the equation is men. When I was at the LSE I co-founded the first men's conscious raising group in the UK, back in the 1970's - so have been thinking about these issues for some time. How will men react to these new empowered sisters, mothers, students and colleagues? It will mean giving up some of their power and prestige, but unless we as a nation empower more women to get to the very top of companies the larger society will suffer, both economically and emotionally. So men and women need to work together in this exciting enterprise, men needn't feel emasculated in the process.