The
senior levels of the Civil Service are becoming more diverse, according to new
figures released today.
Improvements
have been made covering representation of staff from ethnic minority
backgrounds and the number of women employed in top management posts.
Civil
Service staffing figures for October 2003 and Cabinet Office data (October
2003) indicate that:
–
23.9 per cent of those in the very top management posts are women (up from 12.7
per cent in April 1998);
–
27.5 per cent of the senior staff are women (up from 17.8 per cent);
–
3.2 per cent of staff at senior levels are from minority ethnic backgrounds (up
from 1.6 per cent);
–
1.7 per cent of staff at senior levels are disabled (up from 1.5 per cent).
The
Government has made a commitment to ensure the Civil Service becomes more open
and diverse to reflect all UK communities and to build better leadership
capacity.
Sir
Andrew Turnbull, head of UK-based civil servants, said: "Increasing
diversity is a crucial ingredient in building our leadership capacity.
I
am pleased the senior Civil Service continues to become more diverse, which
further adds to our capacity to deliver the challenging results that the
Government and the public expect of our public services."
