Hewitt wants to stamp out 'old boys network'

Trade and Industry secretary Patricia Hewitt has announced her intention to crack down on the male bastions of British industry - such as engineering and technology - and create more female-friendly conditions of pay and prospects.

According to DTI figures there is a 19.5 per cent gender pay-gap within society which is largely attributed to men and women falling into employment in starkly differing sectors.

More than 60 per cent of women are employed in just 10, typically low-paid, occupations according to the DTI. Now Hewitt wants to get more females bums on seats in the IT, engineering and science sectors where male domination is the most overwhelming.

Hewitt said in a statement: "It's not government's job to dictate employment options to people, but we must give women more choice if we are to address the chronic pay gap. Career sexism limits opportunities for women of all ages and prevents them from achieving their full potential.

Hewitt today announced the DTI will provide £80,000 of funding for an Equal Pay Experts Panel, which will be run by the Trades Union Congress (TUC).

The project is intended to advise companies on holding equal pay reviews, train equal pay representatives within the TUC and carry out in-depth studies within a number of representative companies.

Although studies in the past have revealed women simply aren't attracted to jobs in areas such as IT, which is perceived as suffering from a 'male geek' image crisis, Hewitt believes inherent sexism is actually a strong underlying factor in affecting such mindset.

"It is simply wrong to assume someone cannot do a job on the grounds of their sex," she added.

"There are many women who are put off by the male-dominated image and the misconception that a woman simply couldn't do the job.