Are men the weaker link?

On the day when Esther Rantzen announced that she suspected that the British were a race who enjoyed being bullied by 'ferocious women of mature years in trousers', Oxfordshire County Council announced its concern over the fact that, of its 16,000-strong workforce, 80 per cent are...women.

Esther's remarks were addressing the popularity of Anne Robinson's hugely successful quiz show in which Ms Robinson bosses hapless contestants around - but it seems that when it comes to applying for jobs with Oxfordshire County Council, it's the male sex who are definitely the Weakest (or rather, weaker) Link.

Jenny Ashby and Catherine Atherstone think people are more important than gender

Last year, for example, 83 per cent of successful job applicants for OCC positions were women, leading head of organisational development Hilary Simpson to observe: "Historically, a lot of the council's employees have been women because of the nature of the jobs - there are many part-time positions, for example."

Yet the lack of blokes on the council books represents a worrying trend, OCC admits.

Its 'concern' threshold for all types of appointments is 0.8 - and with the male overall success ratio last year scoring a measly 0.6 on the scale, OCC is worried that men are being significantly 'disadvantaged' at some point in the recruitment process. In a special report, the county council says that it considers the large proportion of women employees to represent an "unhealthy state of affairs".

The absence of male employees in such areas as primary schools, care establishments and libraries does not present a balanced image to the users of these services.

Mrs Simpson went on to reflect that: "It is slightly dangerous because large numbers of public services are being run by women only and it is getting unbalanced. It is present in most councils across the country but the problem is quite acute in Oxford."

Not that this appears to worry the chaps who actually do have a job with OCC.

"I'm not surprised that more women work here," said Frank Buckingham, of Witney, who works in the Environmental Services Department. "But working for a woman boss wouldn't bother me."

The lack of men amazed Eleanor Chance, of Cultural Services, though. "The figures you quote surprise me," Eleanor, of Marston, admitted. "I thought that there were more men around. I don't think that women get the job done better than men - that would depend on the women and the men involved. But I prefer to work in a mixed environment."

Deborah Mitchell has worked for the county council for ten years and is currently employed in the Chief Executive's office.

"No, I'm not really surprised at the figures," she said.

"The county council is very good at equal opportunities and women have more of a chance to reach senior posts - I've had several women bosses, but I don't think you can say that you prefer working for a gender.

"Rather than employing more men, I think the county council should be recruiting more young people. They may have an image problem," reflected Deborah, also of Marston.

"The place definitely needs more young blood."

Her colleague, Steve Moran, admitted: "I hadn't noticed that there were more women here than men - but having a female boss wouldn't bother me, no."

Vicki Peek, of Carterton, works in the Personnel Department and said that, yes, she was aware of the current women/men ratio, but added: "I'm not sure why this is the case but I think that it's probably because the jobs are generally secretarial or admin and mostly females apply for these."

Catherine Atherstone, of Cutteslowe, and her friend Jenny Ashby, of Jericho, both work in the Chief Executive's Department.

"Could a man be a school dinner lady?" asked Catherine. "Yes - but would he want to be?"

"People are more important than their gender," said Jenny firmly, "but it's important to have a balance, especially in terms of age."

Jenny, 26, and Catherine, 27, agreed that they did not think that there was a so-called 'glass ceiling' at county hall which meant that, despite their superior numbers, women could advance only so far up the career ladder.

"I think women make a decision on how far they want to go in their career. It's done through choice," opined Catherine.

"And if there was such a thing as a glass ceiling, women would have a better chance of breaking through it here," added Jenny. And were they both ambitious? "Absolutely," laughed Jenny. "The big chair beckons - it's only a matter of time."

Despite her claim, it's a fact that, at the moment, of the top ten county council executive positions, only one is occupied by a woman.

Overall, though, women are in the county council job majority.

As for Tom, Dick or Harry - you are the weakest link. Goodbye.