Progress on greater gender diversity in UK, EU and G20 public service leadership has been glacial. Like Mexico and France, Whitehall needs quotas

As a former senior civil servant who championed diversity initiatives, I am heartened to see that progress has been made on getting more women into senior public service leadership positions in G20 countries.

The 2017 index of female leaders in senior positions in G20 countries, which this year also includes information about the 28 EU member states, shows the progress that has been made since data was first collected in 2013.

In the past four years, the average number of women in these positions has risen by 6.9%. In the five top-ranked countries – Canada, Australia, South Africa, UK and Brazil – the average proportion has risen by 5 points and now stands at 41%. This progress is welcome – but it is not sufficient.

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Women remain underrepresented in senior civil service positions across all G20 countries. The average proportion in senior positions is a disappointing 26.4%. Across the 28 EU member states, the picture is better with the average proportion of women in senior positions standing at 40%. Even here, however, only five of the 28 countries have more women than men in these leadership roles.

Achieving and maintaining gender equality is difficult. When I worked with the then cabinet secretary, Lord O’Donnell, on the UK civil service diversity strategy, he oversaw a comprehensive package of initiatives. These included: top-down targets for permanent secretaries, bottom-up networks and champions as well as numerous training programmes aimed at removing barriers to women’s progression. The issues of gender equality was brought to the fore and progress was made. Despite this intense focus, however, in 2013 – a year after O’Donnell had left the service – women still held only 35% of senior roles. In the past year, in the UK, the proportion of women in senior positions has risen by just 1.4 percentage points.

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Thankfully, it is not all too little, too slow. Two countries have made outstanding progress. In the past year, France has achieved the biggest improvement of any country, with an increase of 6 percentage points, leaping from 28% to 34% of women in senior roles. This is rivalled only by Mexico, which has more than doubled its female representation in senior roles, from 14% to 34%, achieving the overall highest rate of growth in the Index.

Mexico and France have one key factor in common – they have both introduced quotas for women in senior civil service appointments.

Despite resistance to quotas in the past, France now imposes gender quotas in many areas including corporate boards, professional organisations, sports federations, most elected political bodies and government ministries. In 2012, France also passed a law requiring that by 2018, 40% of nominations for executive posts in public services should be women. The European parliament has reported [pdf] that the target is likely to be met early. Back in 1997, the socialist government changed the constitution so that positive-action measures for women were given constitutional legitimacy for the first time and also established a specific unit, the “parity observatory” to oversee and monitor this area.

In Mexico a national programme for equal opportunities and non-discrimination against women was established in 2013, which affects the executive, legislature and judiciary, as well as the three government layers, federal, state and municipal. The programme promotes equality and the representation of women in various decision-making positions.

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Quotas remain controversial, but it is time to accept that without them the pace of change remains unacceptably slow.

Poor decisions continue to be made because of a lack of diversity at the top of departments, while talented women languish in junior roles. Affirmative action is required to elevate this talent and to create a generation of role models that will inspire both men and women for years to come.

I would welcome the introduction of quotas at permanent secretary and director general level in the UK civil service, as this would force the pace of change and have a positive knock-on effect further down the organisation. It might also accelerate the appointment of the first female cabinet secretary. That really would signify progress.

Siobhan Benita is chief strategy officer of Warwick in London and was formerly a senior civil servant with more than 15 years’ government experience.



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