Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to increase the number of women employed in senior NHS roles.

The National Health Service is the largest employer in the country and it is vital we make full use of all its talent. It is true that, while a large proportion of the NHS workforce is female, there is not equivalent female representation in senior roles. That said, there has been significant progress on improving gender equality in senior roles. Over the last three years the total number of women in senior roles has increased by 3,163 (19.3%) meaning 44.7% of Board, 48.8% of Executive Director and 46% of Chief Executive roles are now all held by women.

We are continuing to work towards even greater equality and inclusion as reinforced by actions set out in the NHS People Plan published in July. Employers, in partnership with staff representatives are overhauling recruitment and promotion practices to ensure staffing reflects the diversity of their community, regional and national labour markets. This will include agreeing diversity targets and addressing bias in systems.