asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many civil servants of grades one to four there are in his Department; and how many of these are women.

There are 501 officers in grades one to four of the Diplomatic Service and equivalent specialist grades. Nine of these are women.

I thank my hon. Friend for that reply. Is it not rather surprising that of 501 officers only nine are women? Will he look into the arrangements which are made for recruiting to ensure that women have a fair share of the number of jobs which are going? Would it not improve his own working conditions if he were to do so?

It is in practice difficult for a married woman to reconcile the obligation of mobility accepted by all members of the Diplomatic Service with family life and a husband's career. Consequently; women members of the service usually resign on marriage, and this factor largely accounts for the small number of women in the senior grades. However. resignation is not obligatory, provided that the woman can continue to accept the obligations of the service. There is no bias in the selection process for the Diplomatic Service run under the auspices of the Civil Service Commission.