More than seven out of 10 women feel there is not enough of a gender balance at the most senior officer levels of local government, a survey has found.

The survey, by senior officers' organisation Solace and trade union the Association of Local Authority Chief Executives, also found a similar proportion believed that women in chief executive, senior officer positions and leadership roles were held to higher standards or faced more scrutiny than their male counterparts.

And more than six out of 10 female respondents thought women were judged more harshly, particularly on their appearance, communication style and demeanour.

Female respondents to the survey told of being spoken to ‘disrespectfully', ‘a lot of unaddressed misogyny', ‘stigma around women in leadership roles' and being ‘harassed and propositioned at conferences'.

Others said they had received ‘considerable verbal abuse and inappropriate comments' from councillors, observed ‘inappropriate touching of female colleagues' and described a ‘macho culture'.

One council chief executive said: ‘Discrimination from political representatives is still common, with older males reverting to stereotypes of women in the workplace and asking questions to try to undermine females in leadership roles.'

Another chief executive added: ‘I really hate to say this, but there is almost a boys' club atmosphere among some of the more senior male colleagues, and a lack of respect for females who are often more senior and more qualified than themselves.'

One coach of a number of female chief executives said elected members felt it was necessary for their clients to ‘have to prove that they are worthy of the role even though they have been selected and appointed' while another coach said it was ‘common to see lack of self-confidence and imposter syndrome in many senior women'.

A female chief executive said they were ‘expected to continually manage prejudices towards us that a middle-class white male would never know'.

One senior director said it seemed councillors ‘generally prefer the advice of a male' while a chief executive admitted they felt ‘far more judged on my appearance than my male colleagues are'.

Asked about their individual experiences, females said the most common factors that led to them being proportionately underrepresented in senior positions were professional culture (61%), organisational culture (56%) and societal culture (53%).

One senior director said: ‘We often aren't seen as leadership contenders unless we operate in a very masculine, overconfident and abrasive way.'

In addition, age was raised by respondents, with young women in leadership positions being ‘constantly belittled and sometimes actively ignored' while older women were often viewed as ‘less capable, invisible or as a menopausal liability'.

Some 53% blamed caring responsibilities for leading to women being proportionately underrepresented. Only 18% of female respondents said they still personally aspired to become a chief executive in local government, with 28% pointing the finger at work-life balance concerns. Several women noted that while they had once aspired to the role the public scrutiny and high demands on their personal lives had caused them to reassess their goals.

One middle manager admitted they felt like they were ‘constantly playing career catch-up' while a woman who had reached the top job said: ‘Achieving a balance between childcare and career was impossible when my children were young. I had to make terrible compromises that still haunt me.'

Graeme McDonald, managing director of Solace, said the findings were ‘stark'.

He continued: ‘Women in senior roles still face deep-rooted structural and cultural barriers to leadership. Women want to lead, but not at any cost.

‘Diverse leadership teams make better decisions, build better cultures and reflect the communities we serve. Teams that reflect the communities they serve make better decisions and build stronger, more resilient organisations.

‘The sector talks a lot about inclusion – this research shows it's time to act. When nearly half of respondents say caring responsibilities are a barrier to progression, it's time to stop treating flexibility as a perk and start treating it as essential infrastructure.'