WOMEN make up 51% of the British population. They are better educated than ever before, with girls routinely outperforming boys at both school and university.

These young, well-qualified women are entering the labour market in increasing numbers.

On a positive note more than 45% of solicitors are now women and it is predicted that there will be more female than male doctors by 2017.

Women also account for the majority of full-time teachers across Britain. But despite this progress and the obvious talents and accomplishments of women in work, they remain under-represented at the top.

At the current rate of change it will take around 70 years to reach an equal number of men and women directors of FTSE 100 companies up to another 14 general elections before there are an equal number of women MPs in Parliament.

At the current rate of progress it will take another:

30 years to achieve an equal number of women senior police officers

70 years to achieve an equal number of women directors in the FTSE 100

45 years to achieve an equal number of women in the senior judiciary

14 elections, or up to 70 years, to achieve an equal number of women MPs

In politics women represent:

22.2% of MPs (up from 19.3% in 2008)

17.4% of Cabinet members (down from 26.1% in 2008)

21.9% of members of the House of Lords (up from 19.7% in 2008)

13.2% of local authority council leaders (down from 14.3% in 2008)

In business women represent:

12.5% of directors of FTSE 100 companies (up from 11% in 2008)

7.8% of directors in FTSE 250 companies (up from 7.2% in 2008)

In media and culture, women represent:

9.5% of national newspaper editors (down from 13.6% in 2008)

6.7% of chief executives of media companies in the FTSE 350 and the director-general of the BBC (down from 10.5% in 2008)

26.1% of directors of major museums and art galleries (up from 17.4% in 2008)

In the public and voluntary sector, women represent:

12.9% of senior members of the judiciary (up from 9.6% in 2008)

22.8% of local authority chief executives (up from 19.5% in 2008)

Women account for the majority of full-time teachers across Britain, but just over a third of secondary school headteachers (35.5%) of headteachers of secondary schools (down from 36.3% in 2008)

14.3% of university vice-chancellors (down from 14.4% in 2008

Source: EHRC Statistics