Lord Mayor title puts women off job, says York councillor

Previous female Lord Mayors in York have included (clockwise from left to right): Janet Hopton, Janet Looker, Barbara Boyce and Ann Reid

Women are being put off from taking on a city's Lord Mayor role because of the "pointlessly gendered" title, a councillor has argued.

York's ceremonial role, introduced in the 1200s, was held exclusively by men until 1941.

Councillor Katie Lomas said the Lord Mayor name sends a message to women that "it's not a role for them".

She accepted the authority had no control over the title but urged it to make clear the post was open to all.

Ms Lomas made her remarks at a City of York Council meeting to discuss its current constitutional review, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS).

She argued the document should "make reference to the fact we have no control over pointless gendering of roles like Lord Mayor, but the roles are open to people of any gender or no gender, despite the terminology that we have to use".

"I think that's important because research shows that when roles have a gender attached to them, either due to common perception or due to the words that are used to describe the role, then girls and women do not put themselves forward for the role, they do not see themselves in the role and they do not see that as something that is open to them," she said.

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Eleven of the 21 mayors to have held the role since 2000 have been women.

"Just because a woman has held a position, does not mean to say that the fact that the position is called a Lord Mayor is not putting women off and making women believe that it's not a role for them," said Ms Lomas.

Edna Annie Crichton was made Lord Mayor of York in 1941

York's Lord Mayor is elected by fellow councillors and is second only to the Lord Mayor of London in precedence.

The current Lord Mayor, councillor Chris Cullwick, is a man.

Based in Mansion House during their term in office, the Lord Mayor chairs meetings of the full council and represents the city on ceremonial occasions, welcomes international visitors and attends community events.