Women make up nearly half the work-force. So why are they only directors at 9 per cent of firms?

More than 25 years after the Sex Discrimination Act became law, the first national audit of gender and power has revealed that women have failed to break men's stranglehold on control in business, politics, public authorities and industry.

The report, Sex and Power, Who Runs Britain?, to be published tomorrow by the Equal Opportunities Commission, uncovers some sobering statistics. Women make up nearly half the work-force of Britain but only 9 per cent of top company directors; they comprise 70 per cent of local authority employees, but only 13 per cent of council chief executives; and in the police just 7 per cent of senior officers are women.

The same depressing picture emerges from virtually every sector. Just 9 per cent of editors are women; only 18 per cent of MPs are women; 12 per cent of elected council leaders are women; 6 per cent of High Court judges are women; and 29 per cent of heads in secondary schools The only areas of life in which women have achieved parity at the top seem to be running charities and in the Welsh Assembly, where 50 per cent of the representatives are female.

Not surprisingly, the report calls for more transparent recruitment procedures. It says women are still disadvantaged by the "old boys' network" where senior positions are not widely advertised but filled informally.

But the real blame, says the report, lies with old-fashioned employers, and women's partners, rather than a male chauvinist culture. The authors say that the failure of women to reach the highest jobs in politics, business and the law is not because of sexism, but because they are left with the responsibilities of rearing children or caring for elderly relatives. Thus does Britain's long-hours culture and inflexible working practices make it impossible to combine a high-flying career and family.

In the past three decades society has changed, with more women working than ever before - 45 per cent of the work-force are women, two thirds of whom have children - and fathers are spending more time with their children. But employers have yet to catch up. Inflexible working hours make it practically impossible to pursue a career and devote time to a family. And it is women who tend to make the sacrifice because they value power and status less than men.

Julie Mellor, chairwoman of the Equal Opportunities Commission, points out that care has been effectively privatised over the past few decades. So instead of care being seen as a collective responsibility, looking after children or elderly parents is seen a problem for the individual to tackle alone. Real equality, she says, requires caring to be seen as "an issue for the body politic".

The EOC says that crèches in the workplace, job sharing or term-time working, home working, dependency leave and child breaks are the way forward. Marks & Spencer, which has introduced many of these practices, has increased the number of women in senior management by 21 per cent in a decade.

But the feminist and author Beatrix Campbell said that the real issue for both men and women is time.

"There is a crisis in our culture," she added. "We have by far the longest working hours in Europe. Men are working the same hours as my father's generation in the 1940s and 1950s.

"There has to be a cultural revolution. That means both men and women having a working life that more closely corresponds to the seasons of children's lives."

Business

Isabella Moore, 55, first woman president of the British Chambers of Commerce. One daughter, aged 25.

I started my business when my daughter was young because of the flexibility that offered me. I run a technical translations company.We need to ensure support is in place to encourage entrepreneurial activity. There is a huge untapped resource.

National politics

Jacqui Smith, deputy women's minister, 40; two children, aged 10 and five.

I had my five-year-old since I was elected to Parliament. It's a challenge. I've been able to make choices with my husband, as he works part time. People have got to stop being apologetic for trying to organise their working lives around their families, because it is family life that is important.

Judiciary

Marilyn Mornington, District Circuit Judge, 49. Single parent, two children, aged 17 and 20.

I was working three days a week when my children were small and gave up my civil practice. It was a huge financial sacrifice. Being a judge fits much more easily into family life than being a barrister.

Local politics

Jane Roberts, 48, leader of Camden Council and child psychiatrist. One child, 13.

You are juggling two jobs and a family. Meetings are in the evening, so we leave when children are going to bed. You have to say you don't have to give up your life. One day a week I'm going to be at home with my family.

Public servant

Stella Manzie, 43, chief executive of Coventry City Council. No children.

What is critical for anyone in any senior position is that, unless they are single, they have a supportive family. I have women friends who could have been in senior positions but a significant number have chosen, for caring reasons, not to take that route.So yes, I think it is still a big issue. An encouraging trend is that organisations are acknowledging that men also have caring responsibilities. At Coventry we have men who say, "I can't stay late because I have to pick up the kids from school". It helps women chief executives to juggle their job and family life if their partner is supportive. A number, because of their partners' working lifestyles, can be much more flexible.

Police

Margaret Wood, 45, Assistant Chief Constable of West Mercia Police; two children, aged 10 and 12.

You have to be well supported - that's the only way you can manage. I'm well supported by my husband. He was a police officer and then retired and took care of our children. But for a while both of us worked, and we paid for care. It has all worked out very fortunately for me.

Media

Amanda Platell, former editor of the 'Sunday Express' and deputy editor of 'Today' and former spin doctor to William Hague.

I don't have kids. I think that's one of the things that made it easier for me. When I arrived in Fleet Street in 1985 in my mid-20s, I was in a bunch of really talented young women, but so many of them ended up at 30 wanting a family and in the "features ghetto" - the one place where there's some hope you might get to see your kids. All the positions of power in newspapers are held by men. Newspapers are brutal and very demanding in the amount of time they want from you. You can't do it in eight hours. I don't want to say that you can't be an editor and a mum - I think the demands of raising a young family and that job are very difficult, but when your kids are a bit older, less so. But unless you have a fantastic partner prepared to carry a huge amount of the burden, I don't think it's possible for women to be newspaper editors.