Inspiration to all other women in today’s world

JI’VE READ various articles this week about the declaration by leader of the Scottish Tories and MSP Ruth Davidson that she’d never be a candidate to become Prime Minister, due to her teenage experiences of severe depression and self-harm. She says the stress of that ultimate office would endanger her health and relationship.

Most commentators praised her courage in “coming out” about her mental health. But one or two regret the fact that she’s used her psychological issues as an “excuse” for a lack of ambition. Indeed, some say, that frank admission of vulnerability has done women a disservice, giving credence to all the old tropes that they are victims of their “nerves”, frequently “hysterical”, and therefore generally unsuitable for high office.

Rubbish. What Davidson has is self-knowledge. She has saved her own life. She has acknowledged what makes her happy: her relationship with her partner, whom she plans to wed, and her good fortune in becoming pregnant through IVF.

If we’re lucky, those of us who have suffered depression recover and, vitally, realise just how much stress we can actually cope with. Ruth Davidson learned the hard way that peace and serenity outweigh ambition. I think one of the most mistaken feminist assumptions of our age is that every woman should aspire to material greatness or power or both. Some do. An awful lot simply don’t want it. Which doesn’t mean they are wimps or cowards. It certainly doesn’t mean they are inferior to men, or less intelligent or capable. It’s just that many women sense that their happiness and comfort come from a different place.

I’ll be shot down for this by militants, but on the whole, most women are less ambitious than men. They have a different nature.

I would say Theresa May is motivated more by a sense of duty than ambition. A vicar’s daughter, she is assiduous and always determined to do her best. Her premiership, whether you like it or not, is driven by a strong sense of rectitude. And she has had no children to distract her from commitment to her task.

Ruth Davidson is joyously pregnant. All her focus is on her miraculous (to her) little family. I think she’s great. She’s a terrific politician but that’s down to her refusal to conform to old stereotypes. She’s an MP for our age. A lot of us would love to see her as PM. But she’s right to follow her instincts. And one day, when her family is grown, well – who knows?