Granted, Foster is entitled to his religious beliefs. But that doesn’t negate the fact that this policy is extremely damaging to women. By positioning his decision as a question of higher-ground morals, he casts doubt on Campbell’s professionalism, suggesting that women alone in the company of men harbour ulterior, sexualised motives. By that same token, he infers that men may be led into temptation in the company of the opposite sex.

As Campbell points out in her article, though, it’s not simply the idea that a cross-gender meeting will result in a sex scandal that is so deeply insulting. As a respected political reporter - the first, in fact, to break the news of Foster’s bid to become governor in December - Campbell’s progress in covering Mississippi politics has been stunted by Foster explicitly banning co-ed interaction.

Beyond suggesting that men are guardians of virtue, and women are temptresses, belief systems like Foster’s have real implications on women’s workplace opportunities. While Pence’s press secretary, Alyssa Farah, has defended Pence on the basis that he has “elevated women to positions of leadership throughout his career”, it is disingenuous to suggest that practices like this don’t negatively impact women. An anonymous survey conducted by National Journal into women’s experiences on Capitol Hill, for instance, found that “several female aides reported that they have been barred from staffing their male bosses at evening events, driving alone with their congressman or senator, or even sitting down one-on-one in his office for fear that others would get the wrong impression.” Make no mistake: this is a policy that protects men’s honourable reputations, whilst simultaneously eroding women’s personal and professional credibility. It is patriarchy in action, and locking women out of progressing in the business world where informal networking is key to getting ahead.

“Refusing to be alone with a woman is sexist, and has no place in 2019”