Positions of power in almost every sector in Britain are dominated by men, a damning new report has found.
Analysis of the top jobs in the art, business and public sectors found men made up more than 50 per cent of the workforce in every position apart from two.
The role of magazine editor was the only senior job more women than men held, while the only role held by the same number of women as men was shadow cabinet minister.
Top jobs with the lowest proportions of women were in the business sector, with women making up just 6 per cent of FTSE 100 chief executives and 9.8 per cent of other business executive roles.
Women were also underrepresented in the roles of supreme court justices, national newspaper editors, police and crime commissioners and council leaders, where they held less than 20 per cent of positions.
The Sex and Power 2018 report, by gender equality charity the Fawcett Society said the figures made “depressing reading” and called for quotas to help fix the problem.
Chief executive of the charity, Sam Smethers, said: “When we see this data brought together it is both shocking and stark - despite some prominent women leaders, men haven’t let go of the reins of power and progress is painfully slow.
“Equality won’t happen on its own. We have to make it happen.”
The report called for a law requiring public bodies and the boards of large corporate organisations to use quotas for a fixed period. Those organisations who “cannot countenance” such a system should be obliged to set targets and publish an action plan to improve female representation, it said.
It also demanded the government legislate for all roles to be advertised on a flexible working basis, unless there is a business reason for them not to be, and said more jobs should be available on a part-time basis.
The review of the publicly available data came after companies were earlier this month forced to reveal their gender pay gap.
The figures revealed men were paid more than women in 7,795 out of 10,016 companies and public bodies in Britain.
Around one in 10 companies that should have reported on their gender pay gap have not yet done so.
The Equalities and Human Rights Commission is responsible for enforcing the law, but critics have said it lacks the powers and resources to make bodies comply.
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