Even brilliant women like Bake Off winner Candice are crippled by self-doubt. That’s what inequality does

Great British Bake Off winner Candice Brown might look a bit like a younger Victoria Beckham, but how far has Girl Power come since Geri Halliwell sported that iconic Union Jack frock 20 years ago? Then, women earned more than 17 per cent less an hour (on average) than men; in 2016 the gap is still more than 9 per cent, according to figures from the Office for National Statistics.

The TUC reckons equality is inching forward at “a snail’s pace” – and that’s before the predicted economic meltdown in 2017 as Brexit looms. Progress? Not enough for me.

Meanwhile, thousands of workers (mostly female) at Asda are fighting a £100m equal pay claim against their employers who, they claim, pay workers in their warehouses (who are mostly men) more. A similar case is being fought by some of the female workers at Sainsbury’s.

Equality? You still need lawyers to fight your cause.

Candice – stylish, never lost for a double-entendre, perky and self-possessed, right down to her f***-me lipstick – was clear favourite for the title after her ambitious and perfectly executed confections which saw her named star baker on three separate occasions. But even cool Candice exhibited a moment of self-doubt when the winner was announced, admitting she “shouldn’t be in the tent” and confessing: “I have low self-belief, even though my friends and family constantly build my confidence up.”

Why do so many clever, high-achieving women have these hidden nuggets of fear? Could this be one of the reasons more of us aren’t sitting in boardrooms and in the Cabinet?

This week, I went to Buckingham Palace and received a CBE from the Queen – but even super-confident JSP had a nano-second of “why me?” when opening the letter from Downing Street.

There is no question that Candice possesses brilliant technical skills and an ability to cope with pressure. In preparation for the competition, she spent countless hours on top of her real job as a teacher honing her craft and perfecting her baking. She came up with a brilliantly witty King Billy IV pub made of gingerbread with a sticky orange carpet, celebrating her cockney childhood. She thrilled the judges with a peacock made of Tudor marzipan, with yellow feathers flavoured with lemon and green feathers tasting of mint. And her fondant fancies had Mary Berry swooning.

Few of us could ever achieve one-tenth of her triumphs, let alone work against the clock with a camera poking up our noses and recording all our failures. Yet, there’s no denying that deep-seated lack of confidence.

After two decades of women shouting about Girl Power, too many modern women are as insecure as 20 years ago. The Daily Mail muses whether Candice will cash in with her own line of lipsticks, not whether anyone this cool could be running the Department for Education or the NHS.

Candice has not crumbled under pressure. She has exhibited toughness, resilience, humour, and – most important – she’s humble. She’s silenced her Twitter trolls with elegance and charm, honoured her much-loved granny and spoken of her commitment to her family. She’s true to her roots, right down to the accent. How many politicians can say that?

Even Theresa May is mindful to always appear guarded and modest, and never allows herself to celebrate her achievements in a way that any powerful man wouldn’t hesitate to.

Still, too many women seem fettered, fearful of appearing pushy or gloating. Take Candice’s stated ambition, if she achieved her dream and took the prize: to open a tea shop. Surely she could have aimed a bit higher? More than 14 million people watched the Bake Off final; few people in government could claim that intense relationship with the public.

In spite of all this, baking is considered a craft and not an intellectual pursuit. If you believe that, you couldn’t be more wrong. Food preparation at this level involves mathematics, co-ordination, social skills and creativity. It demands bravery and a calm temperament – essential skills for powerful jobs.

Pop musicians suffer from the same denigration, as if making music that people rush out to buy and which forms the soundtrack to our lives is not a high art. The writer Lynn Barber interviewed a friend of mine who had sold 50 million records and whose career spanned more than three-and-a-half decades. She asked: “Why are you still making pop records when you are so intelligent?” – failing to spot that only someone who is really smart can achieve that success. Bakers ought to be running the NHS at the very least. Candice for a Cabinet post, please.