by STEVE DOUGHTY, Daily Mail

Feminism is dead and most women believe they have achieved equality with men, the Equal Opportunities Commission admitted yesterday.

It said a majority of women despise new equality laws as no more than "artificial engineering".

An EOC-backed study - produced to mark the 75th anniversary of the extension of the vote to all women - appears to spell the end for the brand of feminism which blossomed at the end of the bra-burning Sixties.

Now, many women see feminism as old-fashioned and "ball-breaking". Most women, the study suggests, believe the aims of equality are now achieved.

The report, carried out for the EOC by a research group, said: "There was little support for the idea that women are unequal. Sex inequality is not widely considered a major issue."

The findings demonstrate deep opposition to the kind of agenda pursued by Trade Secretary Patricia Hewitt, whose recent paper described women who stay at home to bring up children as "a problem".

One woman told the study, which was based on talks with focus groups: "Every time I think of feminism, I get this really awful feeling. In their quest for women's rights, they really do oppress men, in which case, in my eyes, they are no better than men."

But the Government quango rejected ruling itself past its sell-by date. It instead put forward the concept of "institutional sexism" - to match "institutional racism".