Adeeba Malik today pledged to bring her experiences of the challenges facing Bradford working women to bear in her new role on a Government commission.

The deputy chief executive of Bradford-based economic development agency QED-UK has been chosen to sit on the Women and Work Commission which will recommend to the Government how to tackle the pay gap between the sexes.

Today Adeeba, who was this year awarded an MBE, said she was honoured and excited by her new role, in which she will be joined by representatives from the TUC, Equal Opportunities Commission, Unison, the Learning and Skills Council, businesses and public sector bodies. It is chaired by Baroness Margaret Prosser of Battersea.

Over a year, the commission will investigate why women are paid, on average, 20 per cent less than men, hold monthly meetings and then report to the Prime Minister.

Although the gap has closed gradually over the 30 years since the 1975 Equal Pay Act, a number of factors have been identified as being behind continued inequalities.

These include different levels of experience; different skills and education; the fact men and women are concentrated in different types of career; promotion; the impact of children and pay discrimination.

Adeeba Malik said she hoped to provide a particular insight into the issues affecting the voluntary sector and ethnic minorities.

"There are obviously fundamental issues surrounding women who have children," she said. "I think a lot of women do want to work again after having children but there is an issue around the facilities available and there need to be incentives.

"We have to make sure we make use of people's skills. I think it is becoming more of an issue with my generation and younger generations that they want the ability to have flexible working to enable that."

She praised Trade and Industry Secretary Patricia Hewitt for raising the profile of the issue over the last five years and said she would be seeking a wide range of opinions to take to the commission.

"I am going into this with a lot of different people's views, both from in Bradford and nationally," she said. "It is very much about listening to what other people have to say, particularly in the voluntary and public sectors."

But she was confident there was a changing attitude among Bradford's Asian community towards women and work. "What might have been an issue 20 years ago is changing a lot," she said. "Women are having to look at work because families cannot afford to survive on one salary."

And she hoped her involvement on the committee would help inspire women in Bradford looking to move into work for the first time.

"At the end of the day, when people see someone of their own background doing something like this they tend to follow suit.

"I think a big part of the challenge is how we get women into senior positions and that is even more of a challenge for ethnic minorities.

"For me, it is about developing an agenda where women do apply for these top roles."