Toby at tipp(l)ing point

A question of precedence 8 May 2009

I was at a meeting yesterday between the Commission and several member states, in my capacity as a technical assistance expert. There were 25 of us crammed round the table. Half an hour in, the Bonn delegation arrived from the station. Immediately, a several people got up and offered their seats to the newcomers, themselves moving back to some spare seats against the wall. What was remarked upon when the dust had settled was that it was three women from the technical assistance team who had given way so graciously. I have to confess it hadn’t entered my male mind that I had less right to sit in the front row than anyone else!