PETER MULLEN (Echo, May 5) criticises attempts to achieve equality by invoking the obvious argument that by nature we are not all the same. This is not the point. Nor is it enough to suggest “equality of opportunity” is an adequate alternative. Some children start out with the unmerited advantages of a privileged background and private schooling.

Sometimes legislation is the only way society can hope to make life fairer. It is true that “tax the rich and spend on the poor” is not the simple solution to achieving equality that some people once hoped. Nor is it easy to compensate for poor teaching and inadequate parenting. But it is a worthy aim to strive for “equal consideration”.

Not all of us are a bit deaf, but those who need a hearing aid should have one. Embedded misogynist thinking should not be able to frustrate female engineers who deserve to reach the highest level in business.

Harriet Harman’s effort is not a laughing matter.

Eric Shuttleworth, Darlington