TUC appoints first woman number two

Delegates at this month's TUC Women's Conference will have something to celebrate - the appointment of women to two of the TUC's top three posts.

Frances O'Grady was last month appointed deputy general secretary of the TUC - the first woman ever to hold the post. And at the same time it was announced that Kay Carberry will become assistant general secretary - the organisation's number three.

O'Grady is currently head of the TUC's Organisation and Services Department and one of her key achievements at the TUC has been the establishment of the Organising Academy. She is tipped to become the next TUC general secretary.

Carberry, who has worked for the TUC for 25 years, is currently head of the Equal Rights Department.

They take up their positions on 1 March. And at the end of May Brendan Barber will take over as general secretary from John Monks.

Barber welcomed the new appointments, saying: "The trade union movement has a proud record of campaigning for equal pay and against sex discrimination, but we have been much less good at appointing women to senior levels in the movement."

Only 10 of the TUC's affiliated unions have a woman at the helm and most of these are tiny unions with fewer than 9,000 members. The most notable exception is the 44,000-strong Association of University Teachers, whose general secretary, elected last April, is Sally Hunt. In addition the 15,500-member Society of Radiographers is led by Ann Cattell.