One of the Jewish Leadership Council’s new vice-presidents has criticised the organisation over the lack of women in its leadership.

Rabbi Baroness Neuberger said that the umbrella body had been “hopeless” on the issue.

The cross-bench peer, who is senior rabbi of West London Synagogue, was the only woman among the four vice-presidents announced by the JLC last Friday.

She said she was “very honoured” to have been invited to serve but made it clear that she intended to be “quite a forceful woman” in the role.

The JLC came under fire last month after including only one woman among a delegation of 12 for its annual meeting with Prime Minister David Cameron.

Baroness Neuberger is the first rabbi on the council. The other three new vice-presidents are Labour peer Lord Kestenbaum, who was involved with the council’s youth commission, Conservative peer and leading Times journalist Lord Finkelstein, and long-standing Liberal Democrat peer Lord Palmer.

There are now two women among the JLC’s 11 vice-presidents; four women on its membership council of 31; and two women among its 13 trustees.

Baroness Neuberger said her main interests at the JLC would be social action in the Jewish community and looking at the way communal organisations should work together.

She said: “I hope to see the JLC and Board of Deputies merge or work more closely together.

“I’m in favour of bringing organisations together. I don’t see the point of lots of separate bodies.”

A unification of the JLC and Board was first mooted three years ago.