Almost half of available leadership appointments in the FTSE 350 now need to go to women to meet the 40% women in leadership target by the end of 2025.
According to the latest annual report from the FTSE Women Leaders Review, which focuses on increasing female representation on the boards and leadership teams of the UK’s largest listed and private companies, 42% of board positions and 35% of leadership roles in the FTSE 350 are now held by women.
Progress among the 50 largest private companies, however, is lagging; women hold 36% of leadership roles and 31% of board positions.
Twenty-nine FTSE 350 companies are yet to meet the target that had been set for 2020: 33% female representation at board level.
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There are still nine all-male executive committees in the FTSE 350, although in 2017 there were 54.
Penny James and Nimesh Patel, co-chairs of the FTSE Women Leaders Review, said: “Over the last year we have seen continued progress in delivering gender balance across UK companies which is testament to the commitment and determination of business leaders.
“Whilst the number of women in senior executive roles has increased, we now need a step-change in the rate of improvement to reach our goal of 40% women’s representation at the top of industry in the next two years.
“Given the cadre of talented women and the collective focus on building greater diversity of perspectives, we believe that this is wholly achievable and look forward to working with businesses to deliver on our ambitions.”
Fifty-six per cent of FTSE 350 companies have achieved or are well on their way to achieving gender balance in leadership and at board level, but six out of every ten vacancies were awarded to men over the past year.
Progress towards getting more women into chief executive and chair positions has stalled. However, women now represent 30% of all FTSE 100 executive committee positions and a quarter of all FTSE 100 finance director and chief information officer roles, which are seen as routes to becoming a CEO.
The proportion of senior independent director roles in FTSE 350 firms held by women increased from 37% to 47% within a year.
The business-led initiative, which is backed by the government and sponsored by Lloyds Banking Group and KPMG, urged the UK’s largest companies to double down on efforts to increase female representation and said almost every other leadership appointment will need to go to a woman if the 2025 target is to be achieved.
Whilst we have the strongest ever supply of experienced, capable women ambitious for themselves and for their organisations, the appointment rate is still skewed in favour of men” – Denise Wilson, FTSE Women Leaders Review
CEO Denise Wilson said: “Over the last decade we have seen near revolutionary change in the culture and dialogue at the top of British business with diversity in leadership now viewed as a business imperative that is key to long-term success.
“Whilst we have the strongest ever supply of experienced, capable women ambitious for themselves and for their organisations, the appointment rate is still skewed in favour of men. To fuel further, faster progress and deliver gender balance this will need to change.”
As of 11 January 2024, women held 42.6% of board positions in the FTSE 100, up from 40.5% in 2022.
In the FTSE 250 female representation on boards was 41.8%, up from 40.1%; and in the FTSE 350 it was 42.1%, up from 40.2%.
As of 31 October 2023, women represented 35.2% of leaders in FTSE 100 organisations, up from 34.3% in 2022. The review defined leadership positions as executive committee roles and their direct reports.
Female representation in the FTSE 250 was at 33.9%, up from 32.8% in 2022; in the FTSE 350 it was at 34.5%, up from 33.5%.
The top performers in the FTSE 100 for female representation in leadership included Burberry Group (55.2% of positions held by women), Marks & Spencer (51.3%), Next (50.6%), National Grid (48.7%) and Lloyds Banking Group (46.9%).
In the FTSE 250 the top performers were Law Debenture Corporation (59.1%), IntegraFin Holdings (53.8%), ITV (52.4%), Virgin Money (52.4%) and Assura (52.2%).
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