The “glass ceiling” is still in place, but there are cracks appearing. In certain professions women are more successful - for example HR and PR - but our reseach shows it is more challenging for women to reach the top in law, medicine, the Church, and the civil service.

While Dent chose not to comment on whether the region is dominated by male lawyers, she said: “On the whole women need to think about the prevailing attitude towards women in the organisation; and then an individual needs to think about how they position themselves for senior positions. Knowledge itself is not enough - women need to be more confident, clear and assertive when faced with negative attitudes.”