Men still dominate the most senior jobs in the civil service despite the workforce being made up of more women, a report into gender diversity in Whitehall has revealed.
Research by the Institute for Government found how several of the most senior and powerful jobs in government have never been held by a woman.
The top official in charge of two of the most powerful departments - the Treasury and the Foreign Office - have never been a woman, while the 12 principal private secretaries to the Prime Minister since 1983 have all been men, the report finds.
It says that although gender imbalance has improved significantly since the civil service scrapped its ban on employing married women in 1940, it still struggles to translate its gender diversity in the top jobs.
The IfG said not enough support is given to women in the service to allow them to reach the most senior roles, with men "much more likely" to be promoted.
The report coincided with the announcement of four new "diversity advisors" who will be responsible for making the civil service "more representative of modern Britain".
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Dr Catherine Haddon, one of the authors of the IfG report, said: "Whitehall has been a leader in the efforts to improve workforce diversity, but still struggles to translate this into gender balance at the top.
"External diversity advisors could help address this historical problem, but the experience of women in Whitehall over the last thirty years shows that senior officials and ministers need to consider the culture of its senior ranks, and the attributes it rewards, if it is to increase the number of women in top roles.”
The report includes first-hand accounts from women who have served in senior positions in Whitehall since 1979.
One of those women - Ursula Brennan, the former permanent secretary at the Ministry of Justice - said the civil service had failed people like her who promised gender equality in the most senior positions as far back as the 1970s.
“We still have not achieved the level of diversity that you would expect if you look at the diversity of the talent that is available," she said.
"So I am afraid that we have not fulfilled the promise of gender parity at the most senior levels of the Civil Service that those of us who joined the Fast Stream in the mid-1970s thought would be a reality for the new generation of officials”.
Earlier this month the Cabinet Secretary, Jeremy Heywood, announced that female civil servants must no longer be interviewed for promotion only by men in an attempt to tackle Whitehall’s “male macho” leadership culture.
It came after a report over the summer revealed that less than half of female civil servants questioned believe promotion decisions are made fairly, while only six out of 10 think Whitehall is committed to diversity at all. Male civil servants were far more likely than their female colleagues to think the system is fair.
