NORTH Yorkshire Police has signed up to support a national gender equality campaign.

Superintendent Mark Khan visited Scotland Yard this week to sign the force up to HeForShe - a campaign led by the UN Women Solidarity Movement for Gender Equality.

Chief Constable of Sussex Police, Giles York QPM, was the first male Chief Constable in the UK to commit to the campaign, which recognises men have a significant role to play in the fight for gender equality.

Forces around the UK are focusing on two key areas of the movement - violence against women and women in the workplace - and North Yorkshire Police has made three commitments - to engage with the workforce to discuss gender equality within the workplace to aspire to improve the gender imbalances at senior levels within policing, to continue to work to combat domestic abuse and sexual abuse in society to create communities free from such abuse, and to support the annual reporting of gender equality information.

This week, The Press revealed the number of female officers serving on North Yorkshire Police's front line and the proportion of women receiving promotions had both risen in the last ten years.

Superintendent Khan said: "As a man who is a father of a daughter and works with a number of female colleagues on a daily basis, I feel very strongly about making sure they are treated fairly and have the same opportunities as me.

"I recognise that because of their gender they don’t have the same prospects as me and as women they don’t enjoy the same equality as me. This is something I really want to change and I will be encouraging as many male colleagues as possible to join the HeForShe movement. As a senior manager in North Yorkshire Police, I have a responsibility to ensure the workforce strives to deliver the best possible service in order to protect women and girls who suffer domestic abuse and sexual violence. I will also be working to support colleagues in changing our policies and processes to reflect the need to close the gender pay gap and that there is equity of opportunity for both men and women in North Yorkshire Police."

Temporary Chief Constable of North Yorkshire Police, Lisa Winward said: "North Yorkshire Police are entirely dedicated to gender equality and I am proud we have demonstrated this by showing our commitment to HeForSHe.

"HeForShe is undoubtedly one of the most significant movements of our time and I will ensure we play our part in this drive for change. We have already begun our work around this and the gender pay gap is a key standing item on our Equality and Diversity agenda. From recruitment to promotion, training and welfare, we will drive the workforce to discuss gender equality and aspire to improve equality in the workplace."