In Government
From 2003 to 2007 she was the director of the UK government's Women and Equality Unit quango, now the Government Equalities Office, with her high salary attracting media attention. Mason has also been a member of the Equal Opportunities Commission and an advisor to the Mayor of London, Ken Livingstone. Controversially she used her position as a senior civil servant to oppose one measure of legislative equality for gay people - protections against discrimination in the delivery of public and commercial services - in 2005 and 2006. She was, however, unsuccessful and the measure was passed in the Equality Act 2006. She was awarded the OBE in 1999 and promoted to CBE in 2007.
Since 2007 she has been an advisor to IDeA, a government quango which provides guidelines and regulations for all local authorities in England on equality issues. She was also appointed as Chair of the feminist group the Fawcett Society in the same year.
In 2010, she was elected as a Labour councillor to Camden London Borough Council; she represents the borough's Cantelowes ward. She served as Deputy Leader of the borough council, and cabinet member for sustainability but was dismissed from the roles in May 2011.
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