Scotsman – News in brief – 10.07.06
Women are still being denied top jobs by glass ceiling in universities,
it is claimed. Despite a continuing increase in the numbers of female staff in higher education, women are being denied access to the most senior
university jobs, according to research published today. Scottish Funding Council report states, "Things are changing - but slowly. At some levels, such as the number of women professors, the lack of women is stark and progress slow or non-existent." -The career aspirations of women in the public and private sectors have been curtailed by the "glass ceiling" and a similar situation appears to be worsening in Scotland's universities. The Scottish Funding Council (SFC) report shows that despite 40 per cent of academic staff being female, nevertheless women account for only 20 per cent of senior lecturers and a mere 14 per cent of professors. The SFC, responsible for the distribution of government funding to Scotland's universities, indicates that higher education institutions must do more in future to improve the gender balance. An Edinburgh University spokeswoman said they had "a long-standing history of commitment to equality of opportunity". She added: "There is evidence through rigorous monitoring processes that, for academic grades, women are as likely to be promoted as men within the university." Meanwhile a Glasgow University spokesman said: "While the university recognises that this is a long-term issue, we believe that the policies we have in place are helping to address gender inequalities." The Scottish official of the University and Colleges Union, David Bleiman, said "It is shocking that more than two decades after the Equal Pay and the Sex Discrimination Acts, we still have an academic profession in which the vast majority of the top jobs at professorial and senior lecturer level are held by men." He added that the sector could do much more to increase the number of women in senior posts. A spokesman for Universities Scotland, the umbrella body representing the sector, Robin McAlpine, conceded that institutions could do more to encourage women to go for top jobs.
John Prescott's political embarrassment was fuelled yesterday by reports that a controversial US billionaire had gifted him a cowboy outfit and that moves were afoot in Downing Street to replace him if his position becomes untenable. Mr Prescott may have to undergo a parliamentary inquiry into his visit to the Colorado ranch of Philip Anschutz, the US billionaire who is bidding for the licence to build Britain's first super-casino. The image of Mr Prescott - who was pilloried earlier this year after being photographed playing croquet during working hours – dressed up as a cowboy is only likely to exacerbate the scorn being heaped on the Deputy Prime Minister by Labour MPs. Kate Hoey, a Labour backbencher said, "When you look at every single paper full of it, with editorials, cartoons, all sorts of things, is it really realistic for him to stay on over the summer?" - The Prime Minister, Tony Blair is not keen to lose his deputy, because a vacancy for the deputy leadership of the Labour Party could well trigger a contest that undermines the Prime Minister himself. However, insiders close to Mr Blair suggested over the weekend that the government have had discussions for a "contingency plan" which would see David Miliband, the Blairite environment secretary, replacing Mr Prescott in his Cabinet post.Despite this a spokesman for Mr Blair insisted that the Deputy Prime Minister continues to have Mr Blair's full support and that there were no plans for Mr Miliband to replace Mr Prescott in government.
Murray Ritchie, the convener of the Independence Convention and a leading nationalist calls today for a major change in the independence message, arguing that while remaining fully within the United Kingdom Scotland can become indept. He advocates "Independenceritain", seeing this as a cost effective method of persuading nationalists that independence will not mean Scottish passports and border controls. Writing in today' Scotsman today, Mr Ritchie, the former Scottish political editor of the Herald, says: "True independence in Britain remains perfectly feasible. In broad terms it would mean a return to the original United Kingdom of Great Britain, and it would rectify the historic political wrong of 1707. If the treaty was changed to allow two independent parliaments, we could all be unionists together, just as we are European unionists together."According to Mr Ritchie this would destroy the "big lie" which he claims is made at every election - that independence would mean the destruction of the United KingdomHowever Alex Salmond, leader of the SNP, was unenthusiastic and said: "Murray is technically correct that you could have an independent Scotland within the United Kingdom. The 1707 Act of Union is the one we have our eye on. It is, after all, the British state, not the United Kingdom that is our target." He stressed he did not think the SNP could ever adopt the slogan of "Independence in Britain". He said: "Really, 'Independence in Britain' would be seen as a mixed message, so I don't therefore believe that the slogan will be as successful as 'Independence in Europe'." Mr Salmond said that Mr Ritchie was wrong to emphasise the fear of border controls, as he believed that while those concerns were prevalent in the 1960s and 1970s they had all but died out now.