My View: Catty apprentices let down hopes for women in business

The fight for equality for women in business took a severe denting last week when a cat fight broke out in this year's series of The Apprentice.

For once even Lord Sugar was dumbstruck as the bickering which had dominated the all-girl team throughout their failed task to invent and market a beach accessory spilled over into the boardroom.

It took the calm, but steely comments from former Birmingham City managing director Karren Brady.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Ms Brady has said little since she took over from Margaret Mountford as one of Lord Sugar's assistants in his search for an apprentice.

But she definitely waited for the right moment to open her mouth and give a dressing down to the girls' team for letting women down.

"You are representing businesswomen today and I have to say that it is outrageous the way that you are behaving," said the 41-year-old. "Seventy per cent of my management team are women and I've never come across anything like this.

"I think you have to remember who you are representing in this process, young women out there who want to have an opportunity like this. You should set an example."

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Hear, hear. It has been hard enough over the years for women to be taken seriously in business, People like Karren Brady have had to put up with all manner of prejudice and discrimination to achieve what they have. It was cringeworthy to see this bunch of wannabe businesswomen resort to the type of male stereotype of catty women all shouting to be loudest rather than working as a team to achieve an end result.

Of course, personalities are going to clash when you have 16 pushy, egotistical and mostly annoying people all living and working together to win bizarre tasks set by Lord Sugar, while all keeping an eye on the goal – a job with a six-figure salary with the said Lord Sugar – how could we forget?

Neither the format nor the human interaction changes in this the sixth series of the BBC1 show. Rarely has an episode gone by without something happening that makes you want to cringe at the sheer ineptitude of one candidate or another. But it isn't often that I find myself shouting at the television screen – I suppose not a great deal better than the women I was shouting at. But it was the frustration at their sheer inability to work together, to have some sort of idea what they looked and sounded like.

The only woman to come out of last Wednesday's episode with any credibility, apart from Karren Brady of course, was Stella English. Stella was separated from her ranting rivals to head the boys' team. She showed some of the best skills in turning round the losing boys into a winning team using skill and leadership, putting her female colleagues to shame.

Let's hope that tonight the girls show they have listened and learnt their lesson, but somehow I doubt it.

Related topics: