Personnel Today
  • Home
    • All PT content
    • Advertise
  • Email sign-up
  • Topics
    • HR Practice
    • Employee relations
    • Equality, diversity and inclusion
    • Learning & training
    • Pay & benefits
    • Wellbeing
    • Recruitment & retention
    • HR strategy
    • HR Tech
    • The HR profession
    • Global
    • All HR topics
  • Legal
    • Case law
    • Commentary
    • Flexible working
    • Legal timetable
    • Shared parental leave
    • Redundancy
    • Maternity & Paternity
    • TUPE
    • Disciplinary and grievances
    • Employer’s guides
  • AWARDS
    • Personnel Today Awards
    • The RAD Awards
    • OHW Awards
  • Jobs
    • Find a job
    • Jobs by email
    • Careers advice
    • Post a job
  • XpertHR
    • Learn more
    • Products
    • Pricing
    • Free trial
    • Subscribe
    • XpertHR USA
  • Webinars
  • OHW+

Personnel Today

Register
Log in
Personnel Today
  • Home
    • All PT content
    • Advertise
  • Email sign-up
  • Topics
    • HR Practice
    • Employee relations
    • Equality, diversity and inclusion
    • Learning & training
    • Pay & benefits
    • Wellbeing
    • Recruitment & retention
    • HR strategy
    • HR Tech
    • The HR profession
    • Global
    • All HR topics
  • Legal
    • Case law
    • Commentary
    • Flexible working
    • Legal timetable
    • Shared parental leave
    • Redundancy
    • Maternity & Paternity
    • TUPE
    • Disciplinary and grievances
    • Employer’s guides
  • AWARDS
    • Personnel Today Awards
    • The RAD Awards
    • OHW Awards
  • Jobs
    • Find a job
    • Jobs by email
    • Careers advice
    • Post a job
  • XpertHR
    • Learn more
    • Products
    • Pricing
    • Free trial
    • Subscribe
    • XpertHR USA
  • Webinars
  • OHW+

Gender pay gapGenderLatest NewsExecutive recruitment

Four FTSE 250 firms still have all-male boards

by Ashleigh Webber 1 Jul 2019
by Ashleigh Webber 1 Jul 2019 Shutterstock
Shutterstock

The UK’s biggest companies are being urged to keep up the pace to meet the 33% target for women on boards by next year, but there remains four all-male boards in the FTSE 250.

New figures released by the Hampton-Alexander Review show that although FTSE 100 organisations are close to hitting the target, with 32.1% of their board positions held by women compared with 12.5% in 2011, FTSE 250 firms are some way off with women in 27.5% of positions.

Gender diversity

Investor votes down appointments in firms that lack gender diversity

Men’s parental leave is key to women’s progression

Tech firms lag behind FTSE 100 on executive diversity

Across the FTSE 350, women represent 29.1% of board positions, up from 26.7% since the last Hampton-Alexander report in November.

But 14 FTSE 350 companies – including We Buy Any Car owner BCA Marketplace, Selco Builders Warehouse parent Grafton Group, and Utility Warehouse owner Telecom Plus – still have only one woman or less on their board.

Sir Philip Hampton, chair of the government review that set FTSE 350 organisations a target of having women in a third of senior leadership and board positions by 2020, said: “The FTSE 250 is working hard to catch up but still too many boards have only one woman and remarkably today there are four all male boards in the FTSE 250.

“We are expecting to see good progress in the number of women appointed into senior leadership roles this year, with those companies having worked hard for several years exceeding the 33% target and reaping the benefits.”

In March Sir Philip and the Investment Association, which represents investment managers, wrote to 69 FTSE 350 companies that had fallen short on board-level gender diversity. Since then 20 have appointed women.

Some investors have begun insisting on gender diversity in leadership. Last year Legal & General Investment Management voted against the election of more than 100 chairs because the organisations involved had failed to appoint more women onto their boards.

Chris Cummings, chief executive of the Investment Association, said: “Investors want to invest in businesses that demonstrate they are diverse and inclusive because this leads to better decision-making and avoids group think.

“It is especially disappointing that 14 companies are still falling so far short of shareholder expectations by having just a single woman on their board. Adopting this ‘one and done’ attitude is not good enough, and investors expect companies to up their game and explain clearly how they will set this right going forward.”

Business minister Kelly Tolhurst said she wanted to see companies “do all they can” to increase the number of women in leadership positions further.

“Diversity makes good business sense and those who fail to see this as a priority are missing out on the benefits that diverse leadership brings,” she said.

Diversity and inclusion opportunities on Personnel Today

Browse more Diversity and inclusion jobs

Ashleigh Webber
Ashleigh Webber

Ashleigh is editor at OHW+ and part of the Personnel Today editorial team. Prior to joining Personnel Today in 2018, she covered the road transport sector for Commercial Motor and Motor Transport.

previous post
How HR can take the fear out of meetings
next post
Apprenticeships boost social mobility in ‘cold spot’ areas

Leave a Comment Cancel Reply

Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment.

You may also like

Bald move: Tribunal was right in sex-related harassment...

17 May 2022

Gender equality facing growing backlash from male managers

16 May 2022

Lack of flexibility pushes half of women to...

16 May 2022

Women in finance: Aviva CEO slams sexist comments...

11 May 2022

Maya Forstater: What is a woman?

10 May 2022

Robin Moira White: What is a woman?

10 May 2022

Gender pensions gap: half of women expect to...

9 May 2022

Pay transparency: How organisations can break the taboo

5 May 2022

Avoid salary history questions in recruitment, guide urges

29 Apr 2022

Angela Rayner: Scandal highlights inaction to prevent harassment...

27 Apr 2022
  • What it really means to be mentally fit PROMOTED | What is mental fitness...Read more
  • How music can help to ease anxiety at work PROMOTED | A lot has happened since March 2020, hasn’t it?...Read more
  • Why now is the time to plug the unhealthy gap PROMOTED | We’ve all heard the term ‘health is wealth’...Read more

Personnel Today Jobs
 

Search Jobs

PERSONNEL TODAY

About us
Contact us
Browse all HR topics
Email newsletters
Content feeds
Cookies policy
Privacy policy
Terms and conditions

JOBS

Personnel Today Jobs
Post a job
Why advertise with us?

EVENTS & PRODUCTS

The Personnel Today Awards
The RAD Awards
Employee Benefits
Forum for Expatriate Management
OHW+
Whatmedia

ADVERTISING & PR

Advertising opportunities
Features list 2022

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
  • Linkedin


© 2011 - 2022 DVV Media International Ltd

Personnel Today
  • Home
    • All PT content
    • Advertise
  • Email sign-up
  • Topics
    • HR Practice
    • Employee relations
    • Equality, diversity and inclusion
    • Learning & training
    • Pay & benefits
    • Wellbeing
    • Recruitment & retention
    • HR strategy
    • HR Tech
    • The HR profession
    • Global
    • All HR topics
  • Legal
    • Case law
    • Commentary
    • Flexible working
    • Legal timetable
    • Shared parental leave
    • Redundancy
    • Maternity & Paternity
    • TUPE
    • Disciplinary and grievances
    • Employer’s guides
  • AWARDS
    • Personnel Today Awards
    • The RAD Awards
    • OHW Awards
  • Jobs
    • Find a job
    • Jobs by email
    • Careers advice
    • Post a job
  • XpertHR
    • Learn more
    • Products
    • Pricing
    • Free trial
    • Subscribe
    • XpertHR USA
  • Webinars
  • OHW+