The number of women inside No 10 could be very bad news for Rishi Sunak

The party’s support among women has cratered over the past few years, and shows no sign of recovering, writes Marie Le Conte

Only one-third of the PM’s advisers are women (Reuters)

As a woman, it is good to know your place. I, for example, know that I shouldn’t worry my pretty little head with the economy. After all, the nation’s finances famously only impact men, so why should I bother? Similarly, my female body has never required and will never require any form of medical intervention, so any public health planning doesn’t have to account for me. Of course, I never went to school or university so the field of education isn’t relevant to my interests either. Finally – and as everyone knows – women do not have access to cars or public transport. If, for whatever reason, we may wish to leave our homes, we can very well use our own two legs.

Lest you think I’ve gone completely mad, this is apparently the world this government lives in. According to the most recent and publicly available data, the Treasury and the departments for Health, Education and Transport currently have 15 special advisers between them. Not one of those 15 special advisers is a woman. Furthermore, two out of three of those secretaries of state are men.

Over in No 10, the picture is rosier – but not quite Barbie pink. Of the 40 people advising the prime minister, two-thirds are men and one-third are women. Strikingly, Rishi Sunak’s chief of staff, two deputy chiefs of staff, head of strategic communications, government spokesperson and political secretary are all men. The only senior roles filled by women are head of operations, director of communications and press secretary.