You know what the problem with women is? We want to be able to do things like get pregnant and have children on our own terms, seek employment free from workplace discrimination and command a fair wage in return for that employment—you know, we want "special privileges."

Along comes our savior in the form of investment fund manager Godfrey Bloom, a Member of the European Parliament (MEP) representing the UK Independent Party (UKIP). Mr. Bloom, in his first days on the EP's Women's Rights Committee, attempted to set his compatriots straight by offering this stunning slice of wisdom:

No self-respecting small businessman with a brain in the right place would ever employ a lady of child-bearing age.

Putting aside the absurdity of the statement "a lady of child-bearing age" which can realistically refer to women between the ages of seventeen and forty-five, Mr. Bloom offers a modus operandi for his madness. Bloom sincerely believes that the Women's Rights Committee is utterly misguided in its attempts to legislate equal rights for women—particularly in the workplace—because there is no place for the government in a relationship between employer and employee. He also said that the MEPs had "little or no business experience" who "put in a piece of legislation which is designed to protect women in the workplace but what actually happens is it…writes them out of employment."

Mr. Bloom added, "I am here to represent Yorkshire women who always have dinner on the table when you get home. I am going to promote men's rights."

Fellow politicians like the leader of the Party of European Socialists, Poul Nyrup Rassmussen, called Mr. Bloom's remarks "outrageous" saying, "This is about equal rights. You cannot have the right to fire people because they are pregnant."

In an interview with the BBC last week, Bloom tried desperately to prop up his point with a flimsy example. He cited a fabricated case stating, "Let's say you're a four- man business running a motel. It's very, very difficult to employ a female who is going to disappear on maternity leave within a few months of joining you…"

Forget the eyes; words are the true window to the soul. In this fictitious scenario, we've got the boys club ("four man business"), sharing power equally ("running a motel"), deigning to hire a female—an outsider by virtue of her gender and status in the workplace—with almost immediate nefarious intentions ("…who is going to disappear on maternity leave within a few months…"). To be clear, Mr. Bloom references no statistics to show how widespread or deep this "problem" is throughout Europe. Are we to understand that employed women of childbearing age around Europe are really super-villains hatching their evil plan to dismantle small businesses with the potential power of their uteruses?

The UK has a Sex Discrimination Act (enacted in 1975), which prohibits discrimination on the grounds of pregnancy or maternity leave. A fact sheet on the law explicitly states:

Such discrimination cannot be justified whether on the grounds of cost, disruption to the business, or for any other reason.

All of Godfrey Bloom's arguments rest on predictably prejudiced circumstances whereby the "business-man" or the "four man business" are innocent victims of a manipulative mother-to-be. He's right that, in the UK, there are many more males running the show at top companies. In fact, only 3.4% of women are in executive level roles within these companies. Until women are able to attain those senior positions in greater numbers, the UK must make sure that young women are not subject to discrimination that would create more barriers to success. If Mr. Bloom believes that equal rights are bad for business, maybe he should abandon politics altogether and open up an all-male strip club. Just make sure none of those men are married to "ladies of child-bearing age" — you might have an unintended problem on your hands, Mr. Bloom.

Editor's note: Listen to Mr. Bloom's interview.