UK firms hit target for women in top boardroom jobs 3 years early

A ‘massive change’ is coming in UK business after FTSE 350 companies achieved a major gender balance target three years earlier.

According to the government-backed FTSE Women Leaders Review, the share of women’s board positions in the country’s largest publicly traded companies rose nearly 3 percentage points last year to 40.2 percent.

This meant that the 40 percent target was met three years before the 2025 deadline. Campaigners called it a ‘defining moment’ for British business, but called for more to be done.

However, there are only nine female chief executives in the FTSE 100 – a number that has been described as ‘frankly appalling’ – and nine companies in the FTSE 350 still have all-male executive committees. These committees are responsible for the day-to-day operations.

The nine without women on their committees are Aston Martin, Savills, Plus 500, Discover IE, CMC, Capricorn Energy, Molten Ventures, BBGI and Bellway.

Ministers said this underlined the need for further progress, despite the fact that the 40 percent target has been met.

Kemi Badenoch, the Secretary of State for Trade and Commerce and Minister for Women’s Affairs and Equality, said: “I’m pleased to see that FTSE 350 companies have surpassed this target, demonstrating that change does not always require top-down interventions, but can occur when pushing everyone in the same direction.

“This progress is very welcome and I urge the business community to maintain this momentum to achieve better balance in both leadership positions and boardrooms.”

Just over a decade ago, 152 of the FTSE 350 companies had no women at all on their boards.

Now every company in the FTSE 100 and FTSE 250 – which make up the FTSE 350 – has at least one female director and the vast majority have three or more.

Companies like Greggs, Severn Trent and Vodafone have made remarkable strides in this area, leading the way with more women than men on their boards, the review said.

Burberry, Next and Sainsbury’s are among the companies with the highest percentage of women in leadership positions, including on their executive committees, which support CEOs and boards of directors.

“With companies meeting the target of 40 percent women on boards well ahead of schedule, it is clear that momentum is on their side and that major change is on the way,” the report said.

According to the latest figures, the UK is second behind France for the best female representation at the top.

In France’s 40 largest listed companies, 44 percent of board positions are held by women.

The UK has opted for voluntary action by companies, but France has imposed strict quotas, forcing the largest companies to strive for equality in the workplace.

Denise Wilson, chief executive of the FTSE Women Leaders Review, told the Mail that while a ‘complete revolution’ has taken place in recent years, ‘the tone has been set at the top’.

She said, “We still have a long way to go, even though we’ve made progress in taking this issue of equality beyond just a casual conversation about water coolers.”

There are still just nine CEOs in the FTSE 100, including Emma Walmsley at GSK, Alison Rose at NatWest and Liv Garfield at Severn Trent.

Sue Vinnicombe, a professor of women and leadership at Cranfield School of Management in Bedford, described this number as ‘frightening’, adding: ‘For real change to happen, women simply need to assume the important decision-making roles of chief executive and chair. .’

Member of Parliament Maria Caulfield, the Minister for Women’s Affairs, said: ‘Ensuring that the right people are in top roles is not only morally right, it also makes good business sense.’