The SNP has accused the UK Government of paying "lip service" to the issue of gender equality, pointing to figures showing "stark" inequalities at the heart of Whitehall.

Figures they obtained from the House of Commons Library show that women make up around a third, or 68 out of 200, of members of the UK Government's departmental boards - the bodies responsible for providing "strategic leadership" for each government department.

In particular, in the department run by Women's Minister Nicky Morgan, only two of 12 board members are women, the SNP said.

In contrast, the Scottish Government's board is 53per cent female, with Nicola Sturgeon's Cabinet being one of only three gender-balanced cabinets in the world, the party said.

The SNP's spokeswoman on women and equalities at Westminster, Angela Crawley, said: "This is proof, if further proof were needed, that Tory ministers intend to pay no more than lip service to gender equality.

"The minister for women, Nicky Morgan, in particular should be embarrassed that her own department board is almost 83per cent male. The minister must take action and encourage her Cabinet colleagues to do likewise.

"This failure to commit to gender balance in public life comes as no surprise as women continue to bear much of the brunt of this Government's ideological commitment to austerity."

The SNP said it wants to see 50per cent of public, private and third sector boards to be women by 2020.

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A spokeswoman for the Department for Education said: "The Government is committed to supporting women at all stages of their careers and increasing women's representation in UK boardrooms.

"We have a world class civil service which is much more diverse than in the past and more diverse than the majority of British employers, but we know there is lots more work to do.

"We must become more representative of those we serve in order to truly govern for one nation and open up even more opportunities for people from all backgrounds to progress."

In April, the First Minister set out an SNP pledge to commit to policies which promote gender equality.

She outlined a plan to support women into work by increasing free childcare, raising the minimum wage and ending zero hours contracts

The plan also committed to ending the gender pay gap and supporting the call for a 50:50 gender balance on all boards by 2020.

When the First Minister unveiled her first Cabinet, and Scotland's first which boasted an equal number of men and women, the Unlock Democracy campaign group, said the she had thrown down the gauntlet to other political leaders, including Prime Minister David Cameron, who had failed to back up their rhetoric on equal representation with meaningful action.