WE NEED CONFIDENT WOMEN

3.42.16pm BST (GMT +0100) Mon 17th Jul 2006

Women and Equality Spokesperson for the Liberal Democrats Lorely Burt MP today expressed disappointment at the findings printed in a Politeia pamphlet which suggests that female aspirations do not appear to be as high as they were a decade ago, nor as high as men's.

Commenting, Burt said

"It is a great shame that women and girls today do not have the self-belief that they can achieve great things. Academic results show that females are consistently achieving far higher results than that of male students, and that with low female aspirations we are in danger of losing some of society's most gifted and talented women."

"At a time when politics is crying out for bright and clever female leaders, it is now that we should be encouraging and promoting female achievement, not hiding our lights under a bushel so that less able men can shine." She added.