Legal & General has been singled out as one of the few FTSE 100 firms
that has a significant proportion of women on the board.
The financial services company was praised in a report by BusinessAge, which
finds that women are still failing to reach the top jobs, even though they
represent 45 per cent of the workforce.
Less than 5 per cent of FTSE 100 company directorial posts are held by women
and there are 47 firms with no female representatives on the board. In
contrast, four out of 16 Legal & General board members are women, and one
of its female board members is an executive director.
John MacCarthy, Legal & General’s HR director, believes the company’s
experience proves that top-level commitment to gender equality is essential if
real progress is to be made.
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In the 1980s, the firm employed Lady Howe as a non-executive director, who
was also head of Opportunity 2000, which was set up to help provide a level
playing field for women.
MacCarthy said Lady Howe and Legal & General’s former chief executive
Joe Palmer ensured the firm introduced a positive approach to recruiting senior
women.
