THE old “women working in a man’s world and how they expect to be treated" debate jumped into prominence this week.

David Moyes took up a lot of headlines earlier in the week after video footage of the conversation between himself and the BBC reporter Vicki Sparks showed him reacting aggressively to a question he did not like.

Believing the cameras were turned off, he said: “You were just getting a wee bit naughty at the end there, so just watch yourself. You still might get a slap even though you’re a woman.”

It led to outcry on the treatment of women. There was no harm in that, we put up with a lot, but what was missed in the general condemnation was the part of the comment “even if you are a woman,” meaning a man was even more likely to get a slap for asking an impertinent question.

So it wasn’t just because it was said to a woman that the comment was out of order. It was a stupid aggressively comment, but there was a threat to men too.

The question following on was whether Moyes have tempered his comments - just because he was speaking to a woman. It was to her credit that Sparks did not make more of the incident.

It’s the dilemma faced by women who work in predominantly male environments: do you put up with comments often dismissed as “locker room talk” or, if you protest, are you then not saying you expect different treatment? Are they lessening the cause of being taken seriously? If allowances have to be made for a female, is that equality?

The French allowances, though well intentioned, did not meet with total praise from female jockeys. We don't want an allowance, treat us as equal, was the general comment.

It’s been a great year for female jockeys and Lizzie Kelly continued it with victory in the Grade 1 Betfair Bowl on Thursday.

Afterwards a tweet from @jamesaknight caught the eye. “Was that a great ride or are people saying that because Lizzie Kelly is a girl?”

Would Dr Eva Carneiro have got £5 million in a sexual discrimination claim against Chelsea if she was a man in a similar situation?

The woman in a man’s world is a difficult one. Some want to be one of the boys, no fuss, let their ability speak for itself. Others make a big deal of being a woman among the boys, and court the publicity.

The Irish ladies soccer team were being treated shamefully but even a well-founded grievance met with hostility from the establishment. As was noted, “nobody wants to work with contrary women,” but the comparison was made to the last player who spoke out about poor conditions facing our national team and where he went from there (Laura Larkin, Irish Independent).

Lizzie Kelly chose to seek publicity for her Gold Cup ride and it didn’t go down well with everyone. Posing in party dresses in country lanes, added to a naked photo shoot last year, all seemed to seek unnecessary attention for someone who wanted to be taken seriously as a jockey.

Many felt that it took away from genuinely brilliant Cheltenham achievements by Lisa O’Neill, Gina Andrews and Bryony Frost in beating the top male amateurs.

Kelly said after Thursday’s win, “you have to push yourself - push yourself internally and push yourself on other people without being too irritating.” That’s where many would say the dilemma occurs.

It didn’t actually matter if Kelly’s was a good ride or not. It was effective and was quite something to hold off Cue Card. She could hardly have done any better, and added to the Cheltenham victory in January over Daryl Jacob and L’Ami Serge in the Relkeel Hurdle.

Good and bad rides are often subjective. There were a few comments that the ride on Might Bite at Cheltenham might not have been out of the top drawer.

The Moyes incident highlighted the dilemma. Women want to be taken seriously, treated equally but yet not to look for “special” treatment.

We live in a ruder, cruder world. David Moyes’ behaviour was way out of order but is was as threatening to men as to women.