A fair chance, not quotas, is what women need

Just give women a level playing field - we don't need quotas, says Sharon Griffiths.

Please don't patronise me. Or any other woman either.

Half of company board members must be women, according to a House of Commons committee. Has anyone on that committee actually thought things through, or even thought about it at all?

Yes, of course we want more equality in the workplace, more opportunities for women, more women at the top – but introducing quotas is a ridiculous way to go about it…

Just like all-women shortlists when selecting potential MPs, they cause more problems than they solve. They are discriminatory – just the sort of thing they're meant to prevent – and patronising, assuming that women won't make it on their own.

It causes resentment in men who feel, quite rightly, that they didn't stand a chance and any woman appointed will invariably be assumed to have got the job just because she's a woman and to make up the numbers, and not on talent.

And you might not have the best person for the job. So nobody wins.

All most women ask is equal opportunity and an open mind – after that we'll win or lose entirely on our own merits. Thank you.