Women still in minority at the top

Women remain "massively" under-represented in top positions at work and in society, says a recent report from the Equal Opportunities Commission (EOC).

Sex and power - who runs Britain? reveals that women still hold a minority of the most senior positions in society. In local authorities, for example, while almost three-quarters (71%) of employees are women, just 13% of chief executives are female.

In politics, less than one in five (18%) MPs at Westminster are women, while at local level just 28% are councillors in England and Wales. In Scotland's council chambers even fewer councillors are women - at 22%.

Women did not fare particularly well in trade unions either, accounting for only 18% of general secretaries or equivalent despite making up 45% of the British workforce.

But their position is worse in the country's boardrooms where a mere 9% of executive and non-executive directors on the boards of FTSE 100 companies are women. The same meagre percentage is found among editors of national newspapers.

The proportions are even smaller for the senior judiciary and senior police officers, with women making up just seven per cent of each of these groups.

The EOC complained that most organisations go on having the same kind of people in the driving seat, "despite the fact that women's and men's roles are changing."