§ Mr. Shoreasked the Minister for the Civil Service how many women were members of the boards of nationalised industries, other public corporations and majority owned state enterprises at the latest available date; what proportion of the total they formed; and what were the corresponding figures for 1971 and 1961, respectively.
§ Mr. HayhoeThe information is as follows:
November 1961 January 1971 July 1983 Number of women members 6 7 45 Women as a percentage of total board members 1.5 1.5 5.8 The 1961 and 1971 figures mainly come from the White Paper "List of Members of Public Boards of a Commercial Character". The White Paper covered
undertakings empowered by statute to engage in substantial trading operations, but not purely regulatory or advisory bodies, nor finance corporations".The 1983 figures are based mainly on information collected for the MPO publication "Public Bodies" which has replaced the White Paper. They cover bodies very broadly within the White Paper definition, including some — for example, water authorities, and development boards and agencies—established since 1971. The new edition of "Public Bodies" is due out later this month.