Yes indeed, the contentious subject of gender discrimination has raised its ugly head again and has got people all hot under the collar on the TrainingZone pages.

Two of the most read features last month included Smashing the glass ceiling which looked at three top female players in the L & D sector who made it, in spite of their gender, while The Gender Debate got you all discussing whether or not women and men do have different approaches to learning.

Of course the topic has become headline news following Harriet Harman's controversial Equalities Bill which suggests that women and ethnic minorities should be given employment priority over others with the same level of experience – something that hasn’t gone down well with the men in the office.

Do we need to intervene in this way, aren’t things ticking along nicely without it? Can knowing what each person earns really make that much difference? And will those die-ard old boys' networks ever change their ways? Surely ‘favouring’ one social sector over another will help fuel long standing resentments and serve to marginalise those who feel that they no longer matter in the eyes of the government?

We invite your thoughts and comments,

Verity Gough, TrainingZone features writer