HARD-NOSED BUSINESSWOMAN AND MUM-OF-TWO KATIE HOPKINS SAYS THE SECRET OF A SUCCESSFUL CAREER IS TO FORGET YOUR FEMININITY AND MAKE LIKE A MAN

SO Sir Alan Sugar has got the bra-burners up in arms again.

He’s been moaning that maternity rights have gone too far, and has admitted that many companies are nervous about employing women.

Well said, Sir Alan. Us girls need to realise that women of childbearing age are a liability.

I know it’s not what women want to hear, but from a business point of view, it’s a harsh fact.

We’ve become our own worst enemy in the commercial world because we’ve legislated ourselves out of the game by asking for so much.

Women want to play at being both mummy and career girl, and expect their employers to assist them in achieving this unattainable goal. I hate to break it to these women, but it’s impossible.

When do you see men asking to leave at 3pm to pick up their kids from nursery? Never.

And that’s why big business would rather employ a man than a woman.

The fact is, if you want to break the glass ceiling, you need to act and behave like a man. I’ve learnt to my cost that this doesn’t win you friends.

I was branded a cow when I was on The Apprentice last year because I told it how it was and refused to please the politically correct brigade.

I’m not – and never have been – concerned about offending people. I’d rather be loathed and remembered, than mediocre and forgettable. This is rare in women and probably why I was portrayed as some sort of monster.

But I know that if a man had behaved as I had, he’d have been slapped on the back and praised as being an ambitious go-getter. I became ‘ruthless Katie’ because I ditched my femininity and refused to fall into the sisterhood trap.

The other girls ganged up together and thought they were going to be able to rely on each other while talking about boobs, periods and wanting to have children.

They thought this ‘we’re all in it together’ pact would see them through the tough times, but take it from me – other women are a girl’s worst enemy and the biggest competition they will ever encounter.

If you don’t believe me, just look at how Jenny destroyed Shazia in the boardroom during the second episode of the current series. No sisterhood there!

Women are a deadly, vicious bunch, and girls will achieve far more by standing on their own two feet and fighting for what they want than being sheep bleating in the crowd.

It’s a tough world out there, and the sooner women realise this, the better.

People should remember that The Apprentice, like life, is not about making friends, it’s about making money.

The world is still a man’s world, and the rules for girls are very simple – if you want to succeed in the boardroom, leave your femininity at home and wear the trousers at work.

Photography: Nicky Johnson/Camerapress