It's difficult to know whether Tracey Spicer wrote her Traveller column - about not wanting her kids to sit next to a man on a plane - out of cynicism or desperation.

Coming up with ideas for a weekly column can be challenging - particularly one with a scope as narrow as Spicer's "Mama Holiday" travel item - however, it's improbable a journalist as seasoned as her, simply dashed it off, unaware of what she was doing.

Columnist Tracy Spicer (centre) with former prime minister Julia Gillard and author Tara Moss.

Spicer is a likeable, intelligent woman, who's been a regular and insightful observer of gender inequality and sexism in the workplace, so to begin a column with the words "I know it's sexist" strikes me as foolishly damaging to her credibility as a commentator on these subjects.

We are all guilty of varying degrees of sexism but I'd suggest it is the job of columnists like Spicer and myself to challenge people's gender prejudices and, hopefully, break them down.