Does local government work for women? The answer is a firm ‘no', according to Heather Wakefield as she examines the shocking results of a recent report by the Fawcett Society's Local Government Commission.

Some years ago, during a tea break in annual NJC pay negotiations, I was approached – somewhat aggressively – by a member of the employers' side. The man concerned – an ex-miner, who represented a ‘mining' region on the NJC and who was a Labour councillor – berated me for what I considered a modest pay claim. ‘I don't know what you're going on about,' he said. ‘My wife does for nowt at 'ome what you're asking for a rise for your members.'