The Government are worried that too few women are taking up public appoinments and is taking steps to change the situation. Women's Editor Christen Pears reports.

MARGARET Thatcher proved that you don't have to be a man to get to the top in public life but, ironically, her success may have put other women off.

More than 20 years after she became Prime Minister, there are only a handful of women who are willing to take on public appointments and, earlier this week, Women's Minister Barbara Roche launched a series of seminars aimed at encouraging more women to seek these roles.

Women make up around half of all local public appointments, such as school governors, magistrates and NHS board members, but account for only one third of national and regional appointments. The Government wants more of them to move up to a higher level, to improve the decision-making process and ensure that public services are more responsive to female needs.

"At the moment, women only hold a third of national and regional posts yet have many of the relevant skills, such as project management, interpersonal skills and the ability to get things done," says Ms Roche. "Research shows that too many women underestimate their potential contribution and the relevance of their experience. School governors and magistrates have solid experience of taking decisions which impact on local communities, and these skills are exactly what are needed at national level."

In the North-East, the situation is even more worrying. Eighteen months ago, a major study carried out jointly by Durham and Northumbria universities revealed that the region was dominated by middle-aged, middle-class men. The report, Who Runs the North-East Now?, looked at all areas of government, including MPs, councils, health, education, training and economic regeneration.

While the report showed that the clique of Labour henchmen which had previously run the region had loosened its grip slightly, the researchers were shocked by how few women were represented. Seventy-six per cent of councillors were men, 73 per cent of police authority members were men and 74 per cent of members of housing associations were men. Younger people, those from ethnic groups and the disabled were also under-represented.

Dr Sharon Mavin, director of management programmes at the University of Northumbria's Business School, says she's not surprised that the number of women holding public positions is so low, particularly in the North-East with its traditionally male-dominated culture, or that it peters out higher up the scale.

"The sort of qualifications and experience needed for public office is the same as for the private sector, so the problems women face are therefore very similar. The International Labour Organisation has shown that, all over the world, the highest management positions are held by men, and the closer you get to the top, the greater the inequalities," she explains.

This in itself can put women off, and many rule themselves out because they're simply not willing to play the power games that would enable them to make progress.

"The organisational cultures that have developed, particularly in the public sector, often depend on power and politics. Women are uncomfortable with organisational politics and try to disassociate themselves from it, but unfortunately, what they're actually doing is cutting themselves out. We are not, as women, trying to get into that game and to make it easier for other women."

But even when women do make it to the top, they can cause a different set of problems, and she cites the example of Margaret Thatcher who, during her time in power, earned a reputation for being far more ruthless than her male colleagues.

"Women are used to seeing men in first place and they believe that the only way to get in that position themselves is to be more like men than the men," explains Dr Mavin. "The problem with someone like Mrs Thatcher is that they make it harder for other women. They are often intimidated because they don't believe they're capable of being like that themselves and decide not even to try.

"And then there's the 'Queen Bee Syndrome' when someone goes as far as she can in an organisation and pulls the ladder up so that no other women can follow." As in the workplace, she also believes women are at a disadvantage when it comes to taking on public roles because they have additional domestic commitments. Although men are increasingly willing to take on these responsibilities, such as looking after children or elderly parents, these still fall largely to women.

Other factors range from outright hostility to tokenism, which can lead to resentment among men and a feeling of isolation among women.

But the situation is improving, albeit slowly, and some organisations are encouraging more women to take an active role. One NorthEast, the regional development agency had only three female board members out of 13 in 2000, but now has five, and the health service is particularly good at appointing women. Figures published in the universities' report show that around two thirds of the non-executive board members on the region's health authorities were women.

Angela Ballatti has been chairman of the North Durham NHS Health Care Trust since November and sits on several regional NHS working parties.

"I first became a member of a health board in the early 1990s through the recruitment process. All the positions are advertised locally and anyone who is interested can apply. Women have just as many opportunities as men.

"Personally, I have never come up against any overt discrimination and I've found it a very constructive and positive experience. I think it's an area where we can make a very valuable contribution and there are certainly a lot of very capable and active women on health boards. I would certainly like to see more women get involved."

The Government seminars, which take place across the country during the next few months, will provide information and support on how to apply for regional and national public appointments, but Dr Mavin believes more needs to be done at all levels if more women are to be involved.

"It is very difficult to deal with this situation other than through a significant change in the organisational culture," she says. "There needs to be a move away from equality of opportunity towards managing diversity. This is more about dealing with individuals rather than groups of people who are defined by categories such as sex and race.

"A lot more women are now entering organisations at middle management level, and simply by demography, they will start challenging for the higher positions.

"However, that is going to take a long time and it is a question of whether you are going to go down the route of positive discrimination, like the Labour Party, did with all-women shortlists or decide just on merit. Deciding on merit sounds like it should be the best option but, unfortunately, it assumes a level playing field for men and women at the moment that just doesn't exist."