Women are "woefully" under-represented in boardrooms and the British parliament and there are signs that improvements have started to reverse, according to a new report published in Britain.

Research by the Equal Opportunities Commission found that women made up just 10 per cent of directors in Britain's top 100 companies and 20 per cent of MPs. The commission estimated that 6,000 women were "missing" from top positions in industry and public life.

The pace of change at the top in many areas of British life remains "painfully slow" and in some cases has gone into reverse, despite a huge increase in the numbers of women in work, the commission warned.

Ethnic minority women are especially under-represented, accounting for just 0.4 per cent of directors in the top 100 firms and 0.3 per cent of parliamentarians, even though they make up 5.2 per cent of the population.

Even in areas of above-average black and Asian populations, two-thirds of British employers did not have an ethnic minority woman in a senior job.

The commission said that to break the infamous "glass ceiling" holding back women, thousands more female judges, senior police officers, council leaders, MPs, members of the House of Lords and company directors should be appointed.

Commission chairwoman Jenny Watson said: "Today's troubling findings show just how slow the pace of change has been in powerful British institutions. They suggest it's time not just to send out the head-hunters to find some of those 'missing women', but to address the barriers that stand in their way.

"Thirty years on from the Sex Discrimination Act, women rightly expect to share power, but as our survey shows, that's not the reality."

The commission added that British democracy and local communities would be stronger if women from different backgrounds were able to enjoy an equal voice. It also said that asking for flexible working still spelt "career death" for many women.