Women need to accept they are women, says Shirley Bassey

Those in the know are now saying it will take 118 years for the pay gap between men and women to close, but one person who is not holding her breath – and never has done  – is British singer Shirley Bassey.

The 78-year-old Goldfinger singer says women need to stop fighting for equality and accept that they are different to men.

Her comments are likely to cause ire with today’s feminists, but is she being old fashioned or just realistic.

Ms Bassey told the Daily Mail, “Women in my industry aren’t empowered. Never have been, never will be.

“Think about the modern man. The gene goes so deep, it goes right back to the caveman days: man must have control. Women should not change it, because we’ve tried and we’ve emasculated men. It’s dangerous to mess with science.”

Welsh-born Ms Bassey went on to say it’s not right for women to do jobs that are traditionally “male”.

“There’s a reason why men are here,” she said. “If I was flying with a female pilot, for instance, I’d be very worried. Women have periods and hormones, and that bothers me about women who want men’s jobs.

“Like firefighters, police, soldiers . . . I don’t believe in women soldiers! Come on, women should be women. We should be feminine.”

She added that it wasn’t worth getting upset about the differences between men and women’s roles.

“I’m not sad about it. We should accept it. It’s worked this way for a long time. Men went out and brought home the bacon. Women are now going a step too far, trying to be cleverer than men — or as clever.

“Now, the man becomes the house-husband and it’s wrong. It shouldn’t be that way.

“I’ve been married twice and it has not worked out, but that’s my problem because I’m a successful woman and successful women cannot get a man who is at ease with himself. The caveman doesn’t want a woman who threatens him.

Ms Bassey has been married twice to a “caveman” and that’s it for her. “I’m old enough to appreciate being on my own. I love the idea of not having anyone around to dictate what I do — like when I go to bed and when I eat. I will never, ever get married again, no way.’

What do you think of Shirley Bassey’s comments about women and equality?