Ms Fiona Tierney:

I do not think so. There would be a conflict in what we are being asked to do. Under the Acts and the Equality Acts, we cannot discriminate on the basis of gender in what we do. However, we can set a target and have proactive campaigns and this has worked quite well. In the mid-2000s - do not hold me to the date - there was a concerted effort to encourage women to apply for managerial grades in the Civil Service because there is quite a level of disparity. We were very pleased to see the female participation rate and the results in recent AP competitions, where it is 50-50, which is very encouraging. At this point in time, 36% of the principal officer grade in the Civil Service is female.