FEMALES still suffer in many areas of our national and social life, says our own chief constable Pauline Clare - and without a doubt she knows what she is talking about.

As the first woman in Britain to head a police force, Mrs Clare worked her way up from the ranks, meeting head-on the gruelling challenge of rising to the top in a man's world.

Speaking at the Fair Play North West's Agenda for Action conference, she hammered home the message that racism, sexism, bullying and unfair treatment would not be accepted in Lancashire Constabulary.

She rightly pointed out that any economy which wants to compete with the best in the world needs a highly skilled and flexible workforce where women play a major role.

As she told the conference, there is a big task ahead to ensure such a situation is reached.

But it must be remembered that Mrs Clare was preaching to the already converted.

Fair Play North West is an enlightened collection of public, private and voluntary groups which has joined together in a bid to break down barriers.

Her speech won the fulsome applause it deserved.

But in the outside world, thousands of bigoted companies will simply carry on as usual.

Rarely a week goes by without an industrial tribunal somewhere reporting grim details of racial or sexual harassment.

And what of the incidents which are never made public?

Cases kept under wraps because the victim is too scared to protest for fear of ridicule or losing their job?

Fair Play North West is right to bring the problem into the spotlight. But a speech or two here and there is not going to cure this hidden cancer.

The North West should be proud to be leading the way for fair play and equal opportunities, but without widespread radical changes in attitude, the problem is never going to go away.

Deep-rooted prejudices not only cause personal problems, they can hinder company's progress.

Where an appointment or promotion is concerned, the criteria should be the best person for the job.

Not whether the applicant is the same race as the rest of the workforce, or drinks with the boss at the pub, or can fill a place in the firm's football team.

More go-ahead companies now recognise the role women and people from ethnic minorities can play in their bid to become market leaders. But in the scruffy, dingy backstreets of Britain, there is still an ovrewhelming weight of prejudice.

The sooner it is rooted out, the sooner our economy will flourish.

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.