Only nine FTSE 100 companies currently have female bosses

Britain’s largest publicly traded companies have been accused of a ‘terrible’ lack of progress in promoting women to leadership positions.

An annual survey shows that 91 percent of the 413 women on the FTSE 100 boards have an advisory non-executive director (NED).

Only 9 percent hold senior positions — including positions such as chief executive and chief financial officer — and only nine hold senior positions.

The report, from Cranfield University and EY, raised concerns that the increase in the number of women on boards of directors is caused by ticking boxes to meet gender representation targets.

Sue Vinnicombe, professor of women and leadership at the Cranfield School of Management, said: ‘We have come a long way, but only women in NED positions is not enough to influence the executive pipeline.

“The lack of progress in terms of seeing women in these key leadership roles is nothing short of appalling. For real change to happen, women simply need to have the key decision-making roles of chief executive and chairman.”

The nine female top executives of the FTSE 100 are Alison Rose of NatWest, Liv Garfield of Severn Trent, Dame Emma Walmsley of drug giant GlaxoSmithKline and Linda Cook, boss of Harbor Energy, the largest oil and gas producer in the North Sea.

Also on the list are Admiral’s Milena Mondini de Focatiis, Aviva’s Amanda Blanc, Taylor Wimpey’s Jennie Daly and Jette Nygaard-Andersen, boss of Ladbrokes owner Entain.

Alison Brittain, CEO of Premier Inn owner Whitbread, will step down next year. But when Louise Beardmore takes charge of United Utilities, the UK’s largest publicly traded water company, another woman will be added to the ranks of the FTSE 100 executives.

Meanwhile, sportswear giant JD Sports is led by interim boss Kath Smith, but she will be replaced by Regis Schultz later in the year.

Exceptions: Louise Beardmore (left) will take the reins at United Utilities, while Liv Garfield (right) is in charge of Severn Trent

The total of nine female CEOs of the FTSE 100 is just one more than last year. A woman also chairs 18 of the companies, including Rolls-Royce’s Anita Frew and Prudential’s Baroness Vadera.

The survey found that women represent nearly 40 percent of executives on the FTSE 100 boards and 39 percent in the FTSE 250.

But while the number of female non-executive directors in the FTSE 100 grew 15 percent over the past year, the number of female non-executive directors rose just 3 percent to 36, at just 33 companies.

It means that only 17 percent of the board members of the 100 largest publicly traded companies in the UK are women.

Some companies have outperformed others in improving the representation of female directors.

Diageo, the beverage giant, tops the list with 64 percent, followed by JD Sports (57 percent) and Land Securities (56 percent).

At the other end of the scale is mining company Endeavour, where only 22 percent of board members are women, followed by online supermarket Ocado (23 percent). Alison Kay, managing partner for customer service for accounting giant EY, the UK and Ireland, said: “FTSE companies are increasingly meeting female representation targets.

“However, they fall woefully short of the intended outcome – distributing the power and influence needed to achieve true gender equality.

“Companies now need to dig deeper and go beyond meeting board-level goals to transform their business and improve performance.”

The report comes after the FTSE Women Leaders Review – which has set a target for 40 per cent of board members to be women by 2025 – first expanded its scope last week to include the UK’s 50 largest privately-owned companies.