WOMEN will make up only a fifth of London Underground train drivers in 30 years’ time unless recruitment practices change, according to new research.

The drivers’ union Aslef said that almost 50 years after the first woman qualified as a Tube driver, women are still hugely under-represented in the role.

London Underground has recruited more than 500 drivers over the past two years to replace retiring staff and prepare for new trains on the Piccadilly line, with four in five of the new recruits being male, said the union.

Finn Brennan, Aslef’s organiser on the Underground, said: “With many train drivers staying in the role until retirement it means that, in 30 years’ time, fewer than one in five will be women.

“There is absolutely no reason why the driving grade should not be gender balanced. The issue isn’t shift work, or the work/life balance, which we have addressed in recent years.

“Women make up the majority in low-paid roles, like cleaning or catering, that also require shift work.”

Mr Brennan said there was a failure to actively encourage women to apply for the role of Tube driver.