Growing up, there was only one rule that I always understood: my mother was always right.

As I celebrated a milestone birthday with the woman who brought me into the world this weekend, the memories started to roll back.

In most of them I was a sweet innocent young lad with a roguish cheeky streak; but my mother may have a few different words to describe my behaviour.

Yet between all the reminiscing it got me thinking that there was never any arguing with the matriarch of my family.

She cared and she listened but there was no kidding her, she was always right, and she was utterly convincing.

In short, she is the most successful politician I know.

But beyond sitting on a few community group committees and downing a few large glasses of wine in the Con club, a life in politics never crossed her mind.

She is not the only one to turn away from wearing a rosette.

Even now there is a real aversion for women to go into parliamentary politics.

Looking at recent figures produced by the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) and UN Women showed that of the UK’s 650 MPs, only 147 were women – that’s 22.6%.

Delving deeper into the cabinet and this number, after the resignation of Maria Miller, drops to 13%.

It was enough to spark a feminist call to arms from one commentator. Others were less hasty. The IPU optimistically claimed the equal representation could be achieved within 20 years.

But I’m not so sure.

See, the problem is that Westminster is not set up to be female friendly.

According to female activists, debates go into the early hours, childish boyish banter is rife and the gentleman club culture of late lunches and lounge suits does not belong in the 21st Century mindset of doing business.

Unless you’re used to this stockbroker way of working, they say it can be quite intimidating.

There are a few members of the fairer sex who have successfully navigated it – Margaret Thatcher, Harriet Harman, Diane Abbot and Caroline Lucas are among the notables.

But there was a reason Nadine Dorries saw running off to the jungle as an appropriate way to further her political aims.

On the whole, most women simply turn off when the gladitorial shouting matches of the Commons are shown on our screens.

And all those at the top say is that we need to do more.

All-women shortlists are one way of solving the issue. But Westminster has failed to embrace the idea and those selected often have to labour through their first few years in the chamber being reminded about it.

Instead, Prime Ministers keep going with the outdated role of Minister for Women, which comes with a desk and chair crafted in the 1950s.

I’m sure even Fanny Craddock would view that as about as much use as a minister for chocolate teapots and silly walks.

Could it be that the majority of women are seeing through the patronising rhetoric seeping out of Westminster?

The truth is that many women do not want to be in politics as it is at the moment.

If they did, then they would be among the best in the business.

It’s time we looked past gender and remembered that women in society today have more opportunities than ever to progress.

It’s time that we realised the problem is not with politics but with Parliament.

Fix that and automatically there will be a better calibre of politician which will better represent society as a whole.

Yes, we need more women in politics.

But patronising attempts at filling quotas and ticking boxes is hardly going to convince someone as obdurate and switched-on as my mother to wear a rosette.