BOLTON'S biggest employer is taking the lead in tackling male domination of top jobs.

The council has set itself the radical target of at least HALF its chiefs -- defined as those earning £30,000 or more a year -- being women by 2010.

Adverts for the most lucrative posts will be specifically written to target 'superwomen' and the council will even look at creating job shares to allow high-flyers to balance work with their family lives.

Latest available figures showed that an overwhelming 73 per cent of the council's 13,600 workforce were female.

But statistics suggest the Town Hall is still a man's world with only 26 women in £30,000-plus posts compared to 89 men.

Margaret Blenkinsop, director of education, is the only female to head a department and many women are in lower-paid part-time roles.

In the commercial services department, for instance, 94pc of female staff earned less than £10,000 last financial year.

A report by assistant chief executive David Winstanley suggested there is still a "glass ceiling" holding women back.

The council is also aiming to ensure that 10pc of its workforce are from the town's ethnic minorities by 2010, and that five pc are disabled.

The proportions are based on figures for the town from the last Census conducted in 1991.

Cllr Rosa Kay, executive member for Human Resources, said the targets should make a real difference.

She said: "This is not tokenism and I'm sure people would feel insulted if they thought it was.

"Bolton does take a lead in trying to be an equal opportunities employer. As a council we should set an example and I think these targets are realistic."

Nationally, public sector workers' union Unison has revealed that its 600,000 women workers only earn 79 pc of men's pay.