Karren Brady, the managing director of Birmingham City, explaining why women wear the trousers now, was quoted last week as saying:
"The women who did so well on The Apprentice are further evidence that we not only do better in exams ... Maybe men really will become extinct".
Now it is understandable that Mrs Brady may be a tad distracted, given that her elegant collar has been felt a couple of times by officers from Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs, whose investigations into conspiracy to defraud and false accounting are described as ongoing. However, can she really believe that the women on The Apprentice provide evidence that women will do better in business ? Let us review the lady apprentices from the current series:
Anita - a qualified lawyer and "business strategist" (whatever that is). Forehead like an old-fashioned number 9. Also hopes to complete a chick-lit novel and launch her own business providing emotional, psychological and spiritual therapy. Despite this plethora of talents, she was unable to understand that when you are given a budget, the objective is not really to spend all of it, but to "keep the bloody costs down".
Paula - a human resources consultant. Fired for making a slight error on the numbers, when her team calculated the cost of their sandalwood soap as £5, when it actually worked out at £700. If you ever wondered what use HR consultants could possibly be, this Crystal Tipps lookalike would have left you none the wiser.
Kimberly - a marketing consultant from New York. The self-proclaimed "rough tough cream puff" made a complete hash of, ironically, a marketing task, first with the suicidal decision to advertise breakfast cereal with the completely bizarre Pants Man, then by running out of time to prepare more than one side of the box. Did herself no favours in the board room by scrunching up her face and shrieking like a demented munchkin.
Mona - aptly named senior business manager. Never got behind her team's plan to re-brand