The SAS Last year, to the surprise of selectors who fully expected them to fail, two women passed the gruelling course to join the Special Air Service for the first time. Physical and mental tasks included hiking for 23 miles carrying full kit, sleeping in mud-filled trenches and writing an Andy McNab-style thriller (actually, that last bit is made up). Having passed, they were told they would not be allowed to join. Unlike Canada, Norway and Holland, female soldiers in the British army are still banned from the front line. Any plans to change that? "No," says a spokesperson for the Ministry of Defence.
Catholic priests Despite considerable outside pressure, both from women's groups and the dwindling figures for church attendance, the Vatican's position on the ordination of women remains unyielding. They are not allowed. Pope Paul VI put forth the church's argument like so: "The example recorded in the Sacred Scriptures of Christ choosing his Apostles only from among men; the constant practice of the Church, which has imitated Christ in choosing only men; and her living teaching authority which has consistently held that the exclusion of women from the priesthood is in accordance with God's plan for his Church." If only the SAS had put it so eloquently.
In 1994, having examined the matter to his satisfaction, Pope John Paul II announced: "I declare that the Church has no authority whatsoever to confer priestly ordination on women and that this judgment is to be definitively held by all the Church's faithful." However the Pontiff did add that: "The presence and the role of women in the life and mission of the Church, although not linked to the ministerial priesthood, remain absolutely necessary and irreplaceable." Which is nice.
Fishermen
The clue is in the job title. Women are woefully under-represented in the fields of fishing and agriculture - just 0.7% of the sector is female. According to the Sea Fish Industry Authority, there are a total of 12,647 fishermen in the UK, but they do not keep track of gender division within the workforce. "We have figures on the number of 'fishermen' - because it does tend to be men," says a spokesman. "There are women who manage inshore fisheries and oyster farms, but as far as out on the boats goes, I think maybe there's a couple out there. I believe there is one in Wales." There is not, he agrees, any particular reason for the dearth of fisherwomen. "It's unfortunate. You would think women are just as capable as men at actually doing it. There's a lot of reasons that they don't, but largely it's just tradition; fishing tends to be a family thing, and it's been male for generations."
Neurosurgeons
According to the Royal College of Surgeons, there are just seven female consultant neurosurgeons (of around 210) in Britain. "There are ridiculously few women in neurosurgery and I would like to see more," says Professor Tipu Aziz, a consultant neurosurgeon. "Even though the majority of medical students are women, few become consultants. With neurosurgery there used to be problems with unsociable hours and pressures of work but I think these have been addressed now." Is neurosurgery seen as too macho? "Actually, I think it's less macho than other surgical professions. It's delicate work, you're not doing a big, gory operation."
Physics professors
There is a grand total of 515 physics professors in the UK, and a mere 25 of them are women. This is because women generally use the physics part of their brain to think about kittens and lipstick. Ahem. A recent report by the Institute of Physics focused on what encourages girls to enjoy physics in the classroom (just 22% of A-level physics students are female) and concluded that small shifts in teaching methods, such as allowing students to write down answers rather than raise their hand, can make a big difference. The institute now plans to send a pamphlet of such advice to science teachers.
Roger Livesey from SET, a resource centre for women in Science, Engineering and Technology, explains that "while at lower levels, women are quite well represented in science, the problem arises further up the scale, in the higher echelons, universities and research departments." It is, he explains, partially because the culture of the workplace makes it difficult for women to return to work after having children. The organisation's own research has found that in the UK alone there are some 50,000 well-qualified women in the science, engineering and technology sector who are not currently working. The evidence suggests this is not because they are lazy.
Conductors
The world of classical music has long been male-dominated, although experts say this is changing rapidly. "We have several women on our postgraduate conducting course, says Professor Curtis Price, principal of the Royal Academy of Music. But no woman has become principal conductor of one of the big British orchestras. "It's only a matter of time. We're on the cusp of a big change."
Marin Alsop made history when she was appointed music director of the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, a post she takes up this year, the first woman to head one of America's most significant orchestras. Here, she is principal conductor of the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra but, while there have been women who have guest conducted for institutions such as the London Philharmonic, no woman has ever been principal conductor of any of the big London orchestras. "When people ask me, 'What's it like to be a woman conductor?' I have no perspective. I've always been a woman conductor. I have never been, say, a lizard conductor," Alsop told the Guardian in 2005.
Law lords
Just three years ago, Brenda Hale became the first woman to become a law lord. Thus the Daily Mail labelled her a "hardline feminist", guilty of "subverting family values". Baroness Hale is still the only woman of the 12 law lords (they are still known as "law lords") who make up Britain's highest court. Further down the law chain, there are only three female court of appeal judges (34 male) and 11 female high court judges (93 are male). So why do so few women make it to the top? "The problem is, it's very difficult to stay at the bar if you want to have any kind of family life," says Frances Burton, vice-president of the Association of Women Barristers. "Many women drop out after six or seven years and when you have an imbalance of numbers, statistically more men will get the top jobs. Although chambers do have maternity policies now, it doesn't go far enough." However, there may be a glimmer of hope. When a vacancy for a new law lord becomes available, many tip Lady Justice Arden, an appeal judge, for the post.
Home secretaries
Unbelievably, no British government has ever had a female home secretary. Which is strange, really, because 78% of secretaries are female, and isn't a woman's place, well, in the home?
What a witty article.
