Thanks to commenter Helen in the thread of this post for pointing out the decline in the representation of women at the most senior levels of the Greater London Authority since Boris Johnson became mayor.

As Helen says, the GLA’s target is that fifty-two per cent of posts in the top pay levels should be women, but the actual figure of those employed at this level is only 23.3 per cent.

I’ve now had a chance to look at the figures of the GLA document (pdf, see pages 12 and 14) and the trend is clear. In the first quarter of the year 2008/09 the proportion of women in the top-paid five per cent of GLA staff was 31.7 per cent. In each quarter since then it has declined further, first to 28.1 per cent, then to 24.4 per cent, and ultimately to 23.3 per cent.

The situation is particularly dramatic when one looks as the mayor’s appointments. In fact the elimination of women from senior mayoral positions in the Greater London Authority was highlighted a little over a year ago in this article by Ken Livingstone on Mayorwatch.

As Ken wrote at the time:

“Five women occupied positions at the most senior level in the GLA group at the end of my administration – Nicky Gavron, the Deputy Mayor; Val Shawcross, Chair of the London Fire and Emergency Planning Authority (LFEPA); Mary Reilly, Chair of the London Development Agency (LDA); Murziline Parchment, GLA Director of Strategic Projects and Performance, and Joy Johnson, GLA Director of Media and Marketing. All were replaced by Boris Johnson with men or, in the case of the Director of Strategic Projects and Performance, their post was simply abolished – five senior women were dismissed and every single replacement was a man.”

Since becoming mayor Boris Johnson has reneged on his manifesto funding pledge over rape crisis centres, suspended the Safer Travel at Night board which oversaw work to reduce sexual assaults on women, cut funds and staff from the GLA’s team against domestic violence, abolished the post of women’s adviser to the mayor and cancelled the annual conference to consult London women, Capitalwoman. To this we may add the ongoing under-representation of women in the Conservative group on the London Assembly.

Now we have the figures on the trend in employment of women at the most senior level of the GLA to underline what was being said twelve months ago – that women were being eliminated from the highest positions in London government.

The question of women’s representation at the top level of politics is in the news at present. Unfortunately in London politics the situation is worsening, not improving.

Hat tip: Helen