Dragon ‘wrong’ over women in the workplace

The entrepreneur, 55, who made her fortune in freight haulage, says she still believes that there is no such thing as a glass ceiling.

But she told the Radio Times that making a BBC2 show, Women At The Top, about the issue made her think again about the obstacles faced by women at work.

Devey, who quit Dragons’ Den to front a Channel 4 show, said: “There are lots of myths about why women are under-represented in the boardroom, but the excuse about a ‘glass ceiling’ existing to prevent women from getting to the top is the worst. I am living proof that there’s no such thing.”

But she added: “When I began my journey for Women At The Top, I thought the idea of women struggling to reach the uppermost rung of the career ladder was a load of rubbish.

“I believed that gender wasn’t a real impediment to career progression, and that success would come to those who truly sought it. But I surprised myself while making the show.

“I still think that women who want to succeed will, but I had not previously appreciated the scale and variety of sacrifices that they have to make in order to keep up with male counterparts.”

Devey said: “I am always asked whether women can ‘have it all’. The question should be whether people can have it all.

“There are plenty of men out there at board level who are never asked whether they take their children to school and do bedtime stories. Do they ‘have it all’?”

She said: “I will always have time for women with aspirations and ambition, but not for those who use men as an excuse for their own failings.”