Number of women in optical profession continues to grow

GOS workforce statistics have revealed that women now account for over 43 per cent of practitioners currently practising in England and Wales.

The GOS figures revealed that the number of female professionals has risen by 37.5 per cent from 2,679 in 1995 to 3,879 in 2005.

And the total number of practitioners has increased by 25 per cent from 7,143 to 8,999 in the same period.

Around 95 per cent of practitioners surveyed were optometrists, while the remainder were ophthalmic medical practitioners.

The survey also showed that in England, nearly 31 per cent (2,592) of all professionals were on a PCT contractor list in 2005 with the remainder (5,875) on a supplementary list.