Female contractors and other professional women must become comfortable with endorsing their own skills if they are going to fulfil their ambition, one expert has said.

Suzanne Doyle-Morris, author of Beyond the Boys Club said that gender discrimination in the workplace is still rife and that this occurs in every sector.

It is not just male dominated fields that have this problem, she adds, but even in industries associated with women, the more senior positions tend to go to men.

Ms Doyle-Morris said the best way to get ahead is to utilise contracts and network.

"Get comfortable with self promotion. Get comfortable with the idea that people need to know who you are. There are no rewards for being the best kept secret in an office," she advises.

This comes after the CBI called for action to boost the number of women on boards, calling for companies to report back about their company's diversity by comparing progress against internally-set targets and having to explain if they fail.