2008 has seen a percentage decline in all civil service senior appointments that went to women according to the Civil Service Commissioners' online annual report for 2007/08.

Janet Paraskeva, the first civil service commissioner said: "Overall this year we saw another decline in the percentage of all senior appointments that went to women. Only 24% of all senior appointments that we are required to approve went to women compared to 27% the year before and 32% the year before that."

Paraskeva added: "Last year we also expressed our concern about a number of instances of salary payments significantly higher than the advertised rate to candidates from the private sector. In one case this was as much as 100%. We also reported a number of instances where civil servant candidates were paid significantly under the advertised rate.

"We are concerned to note that there is some evidence to suggest that successful female civil servants are disproportionately more likely to be paid under the advertised rate than their male colleagues. This is something we shall monitor and report on next year."