Equality or ability?

One of the massive failings of socialism and socialists is their inherent blind spot where it comes to equality of everything, mostly because it always ends up being an equality of the lowest common denominator.
This means that in the case of choosing a talented person who is just right for a certain job, they hamstring themselves by putting in a person of the correct gender/religion/skin colour. Harriet Harman is a prime example of this congenital idiocy of the left.

Mail.

Harriet Harman has resurrected her demands that one of Labour's two top posts should always be held by a woman.
The arch-feminist MP has proposed a change in the rules to stop her party reverting to its 'default position' of having men as leader and deputy.
Miss Harman believes women are 'still a long way from equal' in the Labour Party, and wants a vote on the issue by next year.
Her comments that Labour has a default position of choosing men for the top jobs is extraordinary given that she was fairly elected deputy leader of the party four years ago.
She secretly tried to change party rules in 2007 to ensure it could never again be led by an all-male team, but was foiled.
Miss Harman called last year for new rules to ensure half the shadow cabinet was made up of women.
But the suggestion provoked a furious outcry from male and female Labour MPs who branded it undemocratic.

yes, it's not only undemocratic, it's only equality of gender, not of ability, though I suspect that Harman merely sees it as a possible sinecure to keep her in a top job for as long as possible.
That's always the problem for those who seek to make life "fair" in that by making it fairer for some they usually make it unfair for others. Now personally I don't have a problem with Labour making themselves unelectable by this means, however there's always the chance that in (another) moment of madness the electorate will give them another chance. Certainly the Tories are not exactly thrilling the electorate at the moment, so it is a possibility. This would mean that there would be a possibility of the idiot Harman's schemes being inflicted on the rest of us like she did with the hideously unworkable Equalities Act.
People aren't equal, everyone has differing abilities all you can do with legislature is ensure a level starting point, after that it's up to raw talent and often enough luck. What you cannot do is start with the top placings and demand equality there, more often than not you'll displace people who have worked hard to get themselves there and cause a serious morale problem as people with lesser talents get promoted simply by being who they are not how good they are.
People like Harman see injustice where there is none and attempt to correct it by being unjust. Sums up the Equalists in Labour to a tee really.