Out of the 597 full-time directors at the top FTSE 100 firms, just 15 are women and only one is a chief executive according to research by the Guardian.

And of the 190 bosses that earned more than £1 million last year only one, Helen Weir of the Kingfisher group, was a woman. And that was only because of a £34,000 payment to cover the cost of a 40-mile house move.

The research also found there are no women on the boards of 43 top firms.

The paper also considers the issue of fat cat pay and reveals how remuneration consultants on £500 an hour help decide on the packages offered to top directors.