Imagine two women running a company. They have an important client – also a woman – whose business they want to snag.

So they arrange to go shoe shopping together. It’s an all-day outing during Manhattan’s Fashion Week, with an expensive lunch in between designer sample sales. That night they pay premium prices to attend a sold-out quilt show.

They write the whole thing off as a corporate expense because, after all, shoe shopping and quilt shows are “a great way to get to know someone.”

Oh, sorry, my mistake. Typically female recreational outings are not underwritten by corporate America.

That policy is saved for golf outings and big-time sports events.

The New York Giants football organization knows this and is relying on this corporate largesse to keep afloat its new personal seat licenses, or PSLs. Despite buy-in prices ranging from $1,000 to $20,000, they know there will be plenty of takers.

In one move, the Giants turned a seat on the 50-yard-line into some of the most expensive square footage in the history of real estate. Yet, who wants to pay that much for something you can access only eight times a year? At that price, the license holders should be able to sit in the seat any time they want.

But that won’t really matter because all the good seats will go to the suits. Oh, the people in the seats won’t be wearing suits on game day, but the money will come from corporate Suit Land.

Then the folks in Suit Land will turn and deduct some of the cost as a legitimate business expense. They can’t deduct the whole thing because the IRS looks askance at deducting any business meeting held where there are “substantial distractions.”

It specifically cites sporting events – and we would hope so because it would be a lousy game that couldn’t provide substantial distractions. The so-called distractions are the whole point of the day, no?

The folks who claim that golf outings and luxury-box sports events are a true function of work say things like, “You’d be amazed how well you can take the measure of a man on the golf course.” Or, “When you watch a game like that with someone, it really forges a bond stronger than any e-mail or training seminar.”

Funny, you could say the same thing about taking a Pilates class together. But here’s the thing: People never do.

Don’t get me wrong: The worker bee in me thinks, “Hey, I’m all for the little guy pulling one over on the company. If someone can convince the boss that playing golf or watching a Giants game is true work, more power to ’em. What a great scam – wish I’d thought of it!”

But I do recognize that this odd confluence of culture and tax policy is heavily skewed to support predominantly male hobbies and interests. We women are being dumb-dumber-dumbest for failing to get our fun stuff to count as “work” too.

How about happy hour yoga? Held poolside somewhere?

Or a combination networking-book club session? At a spa?

And what could forge a good relationship with your department co-workers more than a team mani-pedi? While watching the “Project Runway” finale?

Hey, boss, want to go shoe shopping?