Who run the world? When it comes to The Apprentice, it’s most definitely girls...
The show has unveiled it’s all-female Final Five for the second year running – meaning the show will see its sixth woman winner in a row.
As Lord Sugar waved axed Simba Rwambiwa, apprentices Dani Donovan, Marnie Swindells, Megan Hornby, Rochelle Anthony and Victoria Goulbourne were left one step closer to the highly-coveted £250,000 investment.
During last week’s show, the teams were given the task of creating a unique new dog food – but both groups left Lord Sugar and the industry experts less than impressed.
And when one team in particular made zero sales following their pitches, Simba, Megan and Dani found themselves in the firing line.
As project manager, Megan saw her team accuse her of not being clear when it came to exactly what we wanted for her product.
And it wasn’t smooth sailing for the rest of the team, with Dani and Simba bickering throughout the task – resulting in Simba accusing his co-star of simply not listening to him.
But when it came down to the nitty gritty, it was Simba who found himself missing out on the grand final.
Explaining his decision, Lord Sugar said ‘It seems to me that no one listens to you. You’re the kind of person people ignore.’
But while it’s so refreshing to see women championed in the world of business, not everyone was so supportive to see the final line up.
One Twitter user wrote, ‘The worst part about watching TV these days is how scripted it is. Firing your best candidates to fit in with International Women’s Day and have an all female final. Simba and Avi should be in the final.’
Another viewer argued ‘I’m done. The wrong person went. It’s too woke and PC,’ with someone adding ‘If five men had been left at the end, there would have been uproar from feminists. More woke rubbish.’
One viewer tweeted, ‘Simba was the only mature, intelligent apprentice in the team of three. He was unfairly treated tonight. Nobody could talk over the mouthy girl.’
And, questioning the decisions of businessman Lord Alan Sugar, another wrote ‘Sugar has lost the plot. At least three of those females are gold plated crap.’
These were just the tame comments, dotted amongst sexist tweets and derogatory statements. Typically, it wasn’t the contestants’ businesses or work ethics that were attacked. What appears to have irked some is the fact that they were women - or 'females', 'birds' and a host of other names that flooded social media.
Some commented that their looks were all that got them to the final. Others claimed that an all-female final could only be a result of the BBC’s ‘wokeness.’
But perhaps these comments show exactly why we need female winners. Because, clearly, that glass ceiling isn’t shattered quite yet.
Talking about making it to the final, Marnie said ‘I think the women this year had a bad start, but from task one onwards we really took charge and there was no stopping us.’
‘All of the women were just a force to be reckoned with and we’ve all wanted to demonstrate what we’re capable of by putting ourselves out there and demonstrating our skills.’
For these women, their journey onto the show has been one of graft. When talking about defying stereotypes, last year’s winner Harpreet Kauer explained: ‘I absolutely loved that it was an all female final because I love empowering women. I hope that I can inspire many women that you need to follow your dreams, go and smash your goals, go and get them’
‘But I also do feel that we need to sort of delete these titles out there in business. It doesn’t matter if you’re male or female. It really doesn’t matter what gender you are.’
And praising Lord Sugar, she said, ‘Through the process, that’s what Lord Sugar is about. I don’t think it matters if you’re male or female. If he recognises that someone’s worth an investment, he will do that.’
Maybe, just maybe, this is why women have outperformed men on The Apprentice. Because they’re worth the investment. Not because they’re women, but because of their determination to make their businesses succeed.
This isn’t to say the show doesn’t have some pretty big issues to tackle. Previous contestants have claimed it’s a beauty contest, whilst others have criticised its lack of age diversity.
But when it comes down to it, surely a show like The Apprentice doesn’t care what gender you are. What matters is that you prove yourself – and in the case of our Final Five, they’ve more than ticked those boxes.