This is gonna sound harsh and I know it - but I think women like Rachel Reeves need to stop crying in public.

This is the biggest news that is in the UK at the moment. The Chancellor, who's basically the equivalent of our Nicola Willis, started crying in Parliament.

Now I feel really sorry for her, cause it looks like she is going to probably end up taking the fall for a man's incompetence because Keir Starmer, her Prime Minister, is weak and is giving into a rebellion and has forced a U-turn on her, thereby undermining her fiscal plans.

And then after all of that, after doing all of that to her and humiliating her in public, what then happened in Parliament is what sparked the tears.

He was asked whether, after all of the humiliation he's put her through, he's going to keep her in the job, and he would not confirm that he would keep her in the job.

And she's sitting directly behind him, the cameras capture it, her face crumbles and the tears start rolling - and you'd have to be heartless not to feel for the woman, because it is incredibly clear that she is trying so hard not to cry, but she cannot help it.

But women have got to stop crying in public. If you cannot stop yourself crying in public because it is too much, get up, leave the room, do it privately.

I was reading Jacinda's book last night, again - I mean, talk about crying, there's another crier - and in it, she tells the story of being pregnant and talking to a successful corporate woman at a function.

And she couldn't find a word that she was looking for and she said to the woman, "Oh, baby brain."

And then she laughed, but the woman didn't laugh. The woman looked at her with a stern face and said to her, "You can never say that."

And the reason is obvious - because if she says that in public, Jacinda Ardern's opponents would have seized on it, but also people in general would have seized on it as an example that women cannot do significant jobs while being pregnant and being mums.

And the same is unfortunately true for Rachel Reeves. There will be people who will seize on this as an example that women cannot handle significant and stressful jobs because women are inherently more emotional.

Now, I realize that what I'm saying is controversial because we have been told time and time again by people like John Kirwan that we're not supposed to bottle things up and we are supposed to talk about it.

But I think we've gone completely in the other direction. We are now at risk of oversharing everything that we're feeling. By all means, talk about it.

Talk to the people closest to you. Cry all you like behind closed doors to them. But if you're gonna cry in public, leave the room - especially, for God's sake, if you're a woman in a big job because it reflects on all women.

LISTEN ABOVE

This is gonna sound harsh and I know it - but I think women like Rachel Reeves need to stop crying in public. This is the biggest news that is in the UK at the moment.&nbsp;The Chancellor, who's basically the equivalent of our Nicola Willis, started crying in Parliament.
Now I feel really sorry for her, cause it looks like she is going to probably end up taking the fall for a man's incompetence because Keir Starmer, her Prime Minister, is weak and is giving into a rebellion and has forced a U-turn on her, thereby undermining her fiscal plans.
And then after all of that, after doing all of that to her and humiliating her in public, what then happened in Parliament is what sparked the tears.
He was asked whether, after all of the humiliation he's put her through, he's going to keep her in the job, and he would not confirm that he would keep her in the job.
And she's sitting directly behind him, the cameras capture it, her face crumbles and the tears start rolling - and you'd have to be heartless not to feel for the woman, because it is incredibly clear that she is trying so hard not to cry, but she cannot help it.
But women have got to stop crying in public.&nbsp;If you cannot stop yourself crying in public because it is too much, get up, leave the room, do it privately.
I was reading Jacinda's book last night, again - I mean, talk about crying, there's another crier - and in it, she tells the story of being pregnant and talking to a successful corporate woman at a function.
And she couldn't find a word that she was looking for and she said to the woman, "Oh, baby brain."
And then she laughed, but the woman didn't laugh.&nbsp;The woman looked at her with a stern face and said to her, "You can never say that."
And the reason is obvious - because if she says that in public, Jacinda Ardern's opponents would have seized on it, but also people in general would have seized on it as an example that women cannot do significant jobs while being pregnant and being mums.
And the same is unfortunately true for Rachel Reeves.&nbsp;There will be people who will seize on this as an example that women cannot handle significant and stressful jobs because women are inherently more emotional.
Now, I realize that what I'm saying is controversial because we have been told time and time again by people like John Kirwan that we're not supposed to bottle things up and we are supposed to talk about it.
But I think we've gone completely in the other direction.&nbsp;We are now at risk of oversharing everything that we're feeling.&nbsp;By all means, talk about it.
Talk to the people closest to you.&nbsp;Cry all you like behind closed doors to them.&nbsp;But if you're gonna cry in public, leave the room - especially, for God's sake, if you're a woman in a big job because it reflects on all women.
LISTEN ABOVE

With a straight down the middle approach, Heather du Plessis-Allan Drive on Newstalk ZB delivers the very latest news and views to New Zealanders as they wrap up their day.

Heather du Plessis-Allan Drive

Perspective with Heather du Plessis-Allan: The Rachel Reeves incident will be used against women in significant roles

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/7784f840-c291-422a-924b-ad9000bbad71/clips/71c1323d-762c-464f-8ac8-b30f0074a2c7/transcript