Staff Byline picture Annabelle Dickson

As a fan of the Danish drama Borgen, the issue of quotas for women in boardrooms was already on my mind even before David Cameron’s warning yesterday that he might change the law.

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In an episode of Scandinavia’s equivalent of the West Wing, the fictional first female Danish Prime Minister Birgitte Nyborg is hell bent on introducing a 40pc quota.

In the BBC drama the sexist magnate of a big Danish firm threatens to pull out of the country, she calls his bluff and as a sweetener throws in an offer that he can be the first to sweep up what she describes as one of the most talented women.

Therein lies my problem with legislation. Even feminist Birgitte acknowledges that there is going to be an element of tokenism in applying quotas which does many talented women no favours. We shouldn’t have boards with women feeling they are there to make up the numbers, or men who think the same.

What we need is a societal shift – something I think is happening already.

Yes, there are board rooms that still resemble the men’s bar at an exclusive golf club - and gender isn’t necessarily the only discriminatory factor class, common interests and education can also come into it.

More fool them and who would want to work for them anyway?

But in my experience they are less prevalent than you would think. Even if there are lots of men, they aren’t all chauvinists.

There are plenty of highly successful egalitarian companies with boards which value a breadth of experience and hard work whatever your class, gender or education. And this trend will continue.

For my generation things are changing. More men take on a bigger share of looking after the family. Many male colleagues make sure they make it to the nativity play and do the school run a few days a week.

And we must not forget that many women drop out of the race to the top. Many of my female friends are thinking about children and suddenly decide they want to put all their efforts into family life and do not want a job on a company board. Priorities do change, and this can apply to men too.

But for those of my generation who do want it - and have the talent and determination – I think they will make it.

At a business event the other day, I was struck that it was Norwich North MP Chloe Smith and South-West Norfolk MP Liz Truss effortlessly directing the debate on the future of banking. I know they are seasoned politicians, but I thought they shone in comparison to some on the panel (including other long serving MPs and bank executives).

Things are changing. We aren’t there yet, but a quota is not the answer.

Companies are waking up to the fact they must nurture both men and women for positions at the top.

And more fool those who don’t.