Warwickshire County Council appointing another man to its all-male local pension board leads to backlash

Cllr Ian Shenton’s appointment was approved at the full council meeting on December 13 after councillors were informed that he had the necessary knowledge and understanding as he was a qualified accountant and an experienced company director.

Cllr Sarah Millar said: “It is a little disappointing that we don’t have any women on the pensions board.

“I would like to suggest that we try a little bit harder in future to try and encourage women to be on the pensions board. There is a mounting body of evidence that suggests that more diverse boards make better decisions.”

This in turn prompted criticism from Cllr Jo Barker who said: “I kind of resent that this is being put down to gender, it should be the best person possible for the job. I would be absolutely hopeless on the board.

"I have no accounting qualifications at all and would find it deeply dull.”

Cllr Jill Simpson-Vince told the meeting that she had been on the committee but asked to resign.

She said: “I have two degrees so I like to think there are some things I can do – this is not one of them. There is a huge amount of training and a huge amount of knowledge that you need to know that comes from a lifetime of doing this kind of work.

“I can do a lot of things, but I cannot do this. It is a huge responsibility and I do not have the expertise.”

Cllr Sara Feeney added: “The majority of employees in local government are women and therefore a woman’s voice absolutely should be at the table and should be heard.

“We have a duty to make sure that those funds are invested properly for the benefit of the employees of this county council.”

The local pension board was set up in 2015 to assist the Warwickshire Pension Fund in ensuring that it is complying with relevant laws and regulations in the governance and operation of the fund.