Women now make up 4 in 10 on FTSE 100 boards
The UK has climbed to second in the international rankings for women’s representation on boards at FTSE 100 level, with new data showing nearly 40% of UK FTSE 100 board positions are now held by women, up from 12.5% a decade ago, leapfrogging countries such as Norway, which enforces a mandatory quota system on businesses.
The data has been published in a new report by the government-backed FTSE Women Leaders Review, which monitors women’s representation in 24,000 positions on FTSE 350 boards and in leadership teams of the UK’s biggest companies.
The government says the findings demonstrate a “major sea-change” in attitudes to getting women leaders to the top table of business in the UK, with women’s board representation increasing in 2021 across the FTSE 100 (39.1%), FTSE 250 (36.8%) and FTSE 350 (37.6%).
Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng said: “UK businesses have made enormous progress in recent years to ensure that everyone, whatever their background, can succeed on merit – and today’s findings highlight this with more women at the top table of Britain’s biggest companies than ever before.
“However, we should not rest on our laurels, and the FTSE Women Leaders Review will build on the success so far of our voluntary, business-led approach to increasing women’s representation on boards and in leadership, without the need for mandatory quotas.”
The number of women in chair roles across the FTSE 350 rose to 48, up from 39 in 2020, and there has been a significant decrease in the number of “One & Done” boards to just 6 this year.
However, there are only only 18 women chief executives across the top 350 public companies in the UK and only 1 in 3 in leadership roles. Only a quarter of all executive committee roles are held by women.
Minister for Women and Equalities, Liz Truss, said: “It is excellent to see the progress being made, but we know there is more to be done.
“This government is committed to levelling up all parts of our country, working to tackle inequality and promoting equality of opportunity, including at senior level, so everyone can thrive.
“We will shortly put forward a range of measures to advance equality for women at work, increasing opportunity, and tackling the issues that are holding women back as we look to ensure that everyone can reach their full potential.”
The FTSE Women Leaders Review report has set out new recommendations, including:
– the voluntary target for FTSE 350 Boards and for leadership teams is increased to a minimum of 40% women’s representation by the end of 2025
– FTSE 350 companies to have at least one woman in the Chair, Senior Independent Director role on the Board and/or one woman in the Chief Executive Officer or Finance Director role by the end of 2025
– Key stakeholders should continue to set best-practice guidelines or use alternative mechanisms to encourage any FTSE 350 Board that has not yet achieved the previous 33% target for the end of 2020, to do so
– extending the scope of the FTSE Women Leaders Review beyond FTSE 350 companies to include the largest 50 private companies in the UK by sales
Denise Wilson, chief executive, FTSE Women Leaders Review said: “The FTSE Women Leaders Review announces four new recommendations for this next stage, which will embed the progress and hard-won gains of the last decade and take business further on the journey to gender balance in the boardroom and in leadership.
“We know there is much more work to do and no shortage of experienced, capable women, ambitious for themselves and their company across all sectors of business today. So while we continue to build on progress for women on boards, we need to firmly shift focus in this next phase to women in leadership roles at the top of the organisation.”
The government is also announcing today that KPMG and Lloyds Banking Group will be the corporate sponsors for FTSE Women Leaders Review in this next phase. The government says it will appoint new chairs to the FTSE Women Leaders Review shortly.
