Banks accused of barring women from board

Britain's main high street banks have been accused of discriminating against women employees. There are no full-time women directors among the 36 seats on their boards and most boards have never had a full-time woman director at all.

Lord Oakeshott, a Liberal Democrat Treasury spokesman, has written to the five banks accusing them of imposing not just a "glass ceiling" but a "permanently padlocked door to the boardroom". He has also raised the problem with Lord Sainsbury of Turville, the Trade and Industry minister. He said: "Promoting women on their boards will make a far greater impact than endless statements about gender equality which litter their annual reports."

Patricia Hewitt, the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, is seriously concerned about the lack of women in top City management jobs and their lower salaries.

In banking, finance and insurance there are 12.8 million women, 15 per cent of all working women. The pay gap between sexes in the sector is one of Britain's most extreme at 41 per cent, compared to 19 per cent in the rest of the country. Sources close to Ms Hewitt said she thought banks were missing out by not promoting more women. The minister has complained about board meetings being a sea of white, male faces.

Although banks employ about 100,000 women as staff and have a few part-time non-executive directors, the full-time board positions are the exclusive preserve of men. The Fawcett Society, which campaigns for more women in public life, said the situation was "outrageous".