'Women need more power in the Northern Powerhouse'
Equal rights campaigners say more women are needed in positions of power in Manchester.
Gender equality campaigners say something needs to be done about the lack of women represented in the Northern Powerhouse.
New reasearch from the Fawcett Society has revealed the vast majority of top positions in Manchester are held by men, while women occupy just one in seven senior roles in local authorities.
Charlotte Mead, from the Women's Equality Party, said: "How can we best serve society if the people that hold all the power and are making the decisions for the rest of society are only made up of one part of society?
"Those decisions are not going to best serve everybody.
"In the Northern Powerhouse - there are not enough women represented so we need to do something about that.
" It's not going to be as successfil as it could be if it is only thinking and is only representing one section of society and if that section is men, it's not going to be as successful as it could be.
The Northern Powerhouse is the government's plan to devolve more power to the North of England and it has included the creation of several combined local authorities.
But Sam Smethers, chief executive of the Fawcett Society, says: "The truth is, whether we intend to or not, we are devolving power from women to men by establishing new structures for local government with no regard for gender equality or diversity."
"We know that 75% of local government employees are women and women are disproportionately dependent on local services. Women's representation matters but at the moment the Northern Powerhouse risks becoming just another boys' club.''