'Sexist dinosaurs' sidelined us, say female councillors

The astonishing claims were levelled by two female councillors who have quit the ruling Conservative and Independent joint administration running Moray Council, leaving the ruling group struggling to cling on to power.

Fiona Murdoch, the Independent councillor for Speyside Glenlivet who quit the ruling administration in June last year, claimed the council was being ruled by a cabal of "sexist dinosaurs" who had treated her "like a lower life form".

And Anne McKay, the Independent councillor for Buckie who quit the administration last week, alleged that sexism was rife throughout the authority and that some senior officials regarded a woman's place as being "barefoot, pregnant and in the kitchen".

The two councillors were the only female members of the new administration when the Conservative and Independent coalition seized control of Moray following the last local government elections in 2007. But they allege they were left marginalised and ignored by the men on the ruling administration from the outset.

Councillor McKay, 59, said: "I felt I was being treated as some kind of second-rate councillor because I am a woman. I have been overlooked at administration meetings and council meetings, and in general discussion we were often excluded from some decisions.

"We have a lot of older men in the administration. And, quite frankly, a lot of them are stuck in their ways. Don't get me wrong - they were never nasty to me. If there was a dinner to attend and a female would have looked nice in the company I was always invited.

"But I felt that I was being sometimes ignored at administration meetings and at committee just because I am a woman."

She said the "sexist" attitudes of members of the administration were shared by some senior council officials.

Councillor McKay claimed: "There are officers who are sexists - the way they deal with you in a condescending manner. We were both successful businesswomen before we became councillors and we are not naive. But there are some of the senior officers - not all - men of a certain age who feel that women should be barefoot, pregnant and in the kitchen."

And she declared: "I went on to the council to be on an equal footing with men, but unfortunately that hasn't really happened."

Her claims were backed by Councillor Murdoch. She said: "I'm afraid they are sexist dinosaurs. When I first went into the council and discovered this, I told people I had found the last horde of the dinosaurs - and there they all are sitting at Moray Council.

"And it's not only the administration but also many of the senior officers.They are a kind of cabal - it's a boys' club - and women are really extraneous to requirements. All you are there for is to make up the numbers."

A spokesman for the council said: "The chief executive (Alastair Keddie] will be writing to both members in the light of the allegations and an investigation is under way.

"In view of that it would be inappropriate to comment further, other than to say that, to date, no complaint has been received from either Councillor McKay or Councillor Murdoch."