Councils are still heavily dominated by men, according to research by women’s campaigners.
The Fawcett Society and Democracy Club says new data shows men dominate in 95% of local councils while only one in 20 have equal numbers of the sexes.
The women’s campaigning group says the ‘shocking’ findings also show that sexism is rife in councils and that progress towards equal representation is moving ‘at a snail’s pace’.
The society says the proportion of women in councils in 2022 is only two percentage points higher than in 2018.
The group’s research also found a lack of support for those with caring responsibilities, with just a quarter of councils offering formal parental leave policies.
It says the Government, local authorities and political parties must take action to record diversity data, set targets for women’s representation and make being a local councillor more accessible to those with caring responsibilities.
The analysis shows that at regional level London has the highest representation of women with 45% and Northern Ireland the lowest at 26%.
Jemima Olchawski, Fawcett Society chief executive, said: ‘Women are significantly impacted by decisions made at the local level and are more likely to rely on the services our councils run from social care to social housing, yet progress on women’s representation in local government is moving at a snail’s pace.
‘That such a vast majority of local councils are male-dominated diminishes public life.’
