As the election gets nearer now (despite the Prime Minister’s decisive decision not to take a tough decision about it) men want women more than ever: because in an all-too brief window of time, women have power over men.

Britain’s eight million mums – who feature large among the undecideds – are being bribed by politicos with more familycentric working hours. David Cameron’s old lady Samantha – a weapon about as secret as Lord Mandelson – is to give more interviews – as will the Tory chief’s mother, Mary. And Sister Sarah of the Teary Eye loomed large in the audience for Piers Morgan’s docudrama Gordon the Sex God three weeks a ago.

But it’s a rather demeaning role for women, is it not?

Harriet Harman chose yesterday’s International Women’s Day to say there weren’t enough women in the boardrooms, although 2007’s ‘don’t want it all’ research suggested most of them aren’t interested in being there anyway. (How right they are).

Women have more pressures on them than ever before. Some appalling things are still going on, and yet the one thing (as a bloke) I’d like to know about the issue these days is what percentage of women think Harriet Harman has made their lives better in any truly holistic sense.

Poor treatment of women, the record suggests, won’t be solved by Wimmins’ Days and other drivel: laws, syntaxical changes, demos and smouldering bras have all been thrown at the cause. But in 2010, Porn degrading women is in greater supply than ever, advertising insulting women is worse than it was in my adman days, State abuse of the rights of downmarket mothers is a national disgrace, and in all-male mid-brow company, the taking of women for granted by misogynist men is more casually unpleasant than real women could possibly imagine.

I have a point to make in the light of what’s happening in our politics at the moment: power is the only thing that will give women true equality: the kind of power that comes from withdrawal of labour. Rather than hectoring men about ‘how crap’ they are with a venom that would put any misogynist bigot to shame, women should simply more often not do stuff when treated badly – believe me, it works – or threaten to do something other than that which men desire. Like not voting for David Cameron just because his Mum says he’s a nice boy really; or not switching to Gordon Brown just because Saint Sarah can turn on the tears at will.

Real power is about choices. Caryl Churchill dramatised this better than anyone in her play of many years ago, Top Girls. The downtrodden dowdy sister tied to the home lacked the choices offered to her attractive sibling, and this ruined her life. It was easily the best play I’ve seen when it comes to exposing society’s exploitation of women – and yet Churchill insists she is not a feminist.

But real power always comes with responsibility: the need to condemn divorce gold-diggers, ladies who lunch, man-hating nutters, and freaks who think their workaholic obsession is an example everyone else should follow.

‘Speak politely and carry a big stick’ was advice proffered by Teddy Roosevelt. Women everywhere should heed it – and remember that the assumptive behaviour of men was nearly always created by a woman: their mothers.