Councils need 12,000 more women to close gender gap
(The Guardian Business News)

MPs are calling for quotas to overturn the `democratic deficit´ in local governmentA gender imbalance across local government has been exposed in a damning report that suggests councils - especially the new mayoral authorities - are lagging behind even Westminster in taking steps to improve equality.The study, published on Sunday by the Institute for Public Policy Research, reveals that only 33% of councillors and 17% of council leaders in England are women, something the thinktank suggests is causing a `democratic deficit`. Continue reading...