Women make up just 29% of the senior Civil Service, and often earn far less than their male colleagues, the Liberal Democrats have claimed. After analysing the Office for National Statistics' Civil Service employment report, Liberal Democrat MP, Lynne Featherstone, described the figure as ‘very depressing'. Despite recent pronouncements by Harriet Harman, Labour's deputy leader and minister for women, promoting equality in the workplace, Ms Featherstone accused Whitehall of not putting its own house in order. She said: ‘If the Civil Service is unable to treat men and women equally, what hope is there for the private sector?' However, a senior Cabinet Office source told The MJ the Lib Dem's figures ‘do not tally directly' with the department's latest figures for Whitehall staff. He said: ‘Across the whole of central government, a huge amount of work has been done to raise the number of women in senior posts'. What is clear, however, is that male staff continue to earn significantly more than women. According to Ms Featherstone's figures, the median pay gap across Whitehall was 15.3% – equivalent to £4,400 a year – but the differential at some departments was higher. The gender pay gap at the attorney general's departments and the Treasury were estimated at 28% and 27% respectively. The former Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills (DIUS) paid senior male staff an average of 25% more than women. Ms Featherstone said: ‘It is a sad reflection on the state of equal pay in this country that women in some government departments can expect to earn up to 30% less than their male colleagues.'
