Personnel Today
  • Home
    • All PT content
  • Email sign-up
  • Topics
    • HR Practice
    • Employee relations
    • 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
    • Maternity & paternity
    • Shared parental leave
    • Redundancy
    • TUPE
    • Disciplinary and grievances
    • Employer’s guides
  • AWARDS
    • Personnel Today Awards
    • The RAD Awards
  • Jobs
    • Find a job
    • Jobs by email
    • Careers advice
    • Post a job
  • Brightmine
    • Learn more
    • Products
    • Free trial
    • Request a quote
  • Webinars
  • Advertise
  • OHW+

Personnel Today

Register
Log in
Personnel Today
  • Home
    • All PT content
  • Email sign-up
  • Topics
    • HR Practice
    • Employee relations
    • 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
    • Maternity & paternity
    • Shared parental leave
    • Redundancy
    • TUPE
    • Disciplinary and grievances
    • Employer’s guides
  • AWARDS
    • Personnel Today Awards
    • The RAD Awards
  • Jobs
    • Find a job
    • Jobs by email
    • Careers advice
    • Post a job
  • Brightmine
    • Learn more
    • Products
    • Free trial
    • Request a quote
  • Webinars
  • Advertise
  • OHW+

Equality, diversity and inclusionExecutive recruitmentSex discrimination

Number of women on boards approaches 25%

by Rob Moss 25 Mar 2015
by Rob Moss 25 Mar 2015 Women on Boards: Top 10 most improved FTSE100 boards. Source: BIS
Women on Boards: Top 10 most improved FTSE100 boards. Source: BIS

The proportion of female board member in FTSE 100 companies now stands at 23.5%, marginally short of this year’s 25% target figure, according to the latest Women on Boards annual report of the Davies Review.

Women’s representation on FTSE 100 boards in 2011, when Lord Davies published his first Women on Boards report, was just 12.5%. Davies asked the UK’s top 350 companies to set targets and recommended that all Financial Times-Stock Exchange (FTSE) 100 boards should aim for a minimum 25% female representation on their boards by the end of 2015.

The voluntary approach is working, boards are getting fixed” – Lord Davies

There are now no all-male FTSE 100 boards. Drinks company Diageo and InterContinental Hotels Group lead the way, both with 45.5% female representation on boards. The lowest female representation is at Coca-Cola HBC (with just 7.7% of board members), followed by Schroders (8.3%), Antofagasta (9.1%) and British Land (10%).

Business secretary Vince Cable said: “FTSE 100 boards have made enormous progress in the last four years, almost doubling female representation to just shy of 25%. We must celebrate this outstanding achievement and the change in culture that is taking hold at the heart of British business. The evidence is irrefutable: boards with a healthy female representation outperform their male-dominated rivals.”

Diversity resources

Good practice manual: Gender

Good practice manual: Candidate attraction

He continued that he was confident that the UK will reach the target this year, but added that he would expect to exceed one-third of female representation by 2020.

There are 23 all-male boards in the FTSE 250 remaining, down from 131 in 2011 and 48 one year ago. Household names with no women on their boards include SuperGroup and JD Sports Fashion.

Davies said the rate of change over the past four years had been remarkable: “The voluntary approach is working, boards are getting fixed. We now have to increase the low number of chairs and executive directors on boards and address the loss of talented, senior women from the executive pipeline.”

Women on Boards 2015: focus on manufacturing
Manufacturing body the EEF analyses how the sector is performing in the FTSE 100.

Cable adds: “We must also focus on ensuring women are rising fast enough through the pipeline and taking up executive positions. Diverse senior management pools are vital to securing the future corporate competitiveness of the UK.”

Sign up to our weekly round-up of HR news and guidance

Receive the Personnel Today Direct e-newsletter every Wednesday

OptOut
This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Kathryn Nawrockyi, Opportunity Now director at Business in the Community, said that today’s news is a fantastic achievement. “[It] shows that taking a voluntary approach to increasing the number of women at senior levels really does work.” But she added that “simply putting more women in non-executive director roles is not enough.”

Katja Hall, CBI deputy director general, added: “The Government must allow businesses to take the lead in this agenda, but it can also do more to help by extending free childcare, tackling occupational stereotypes in schools and promoting the benefits of flexible working.”

Rob Moss

Rob Moss is a business journalist with more than 25 years' experience. He has been editor of Personnel Today since 2010. He joined the publication in 2006 as online editor of the award-winning website. Rob specialises in labour market economics, gender diversity and family-friendly working. He has hosted hundreds of webinar and podcasts. Before writing about HR and employment he ran news and feature desks on publications serving the global optical and eyewear market, the UK electrical industry, and energy markets in Asia and the Middle East.

previous post
HR roles: do you have a split personality?
next post
Women on Boards 2015: focus on manufacturing

You may also like

Fewer workers would comply with a return-to-office mandate

21 May 2025

Redefining leadership: From competence to inclusion

21 May 2025

Consultation launched after Supreme Court ‘sex’ ruling

20 May 2025

RCN warns Darlington NHS trust over single-sex spaces

16 May 2025

EHRC bows to pressure and extends gender consultation

15 May 2025

Culture, ‘micro-incivilities’ and invisible talent

14 May 2025

Why fighting the DEI backlash is about PR...

9 May 2025

So what does the election of a new...

9 May 2025

Rethinking talent: Who was never considered in the...

7 May 2025

Reform UK councils’ staff face WFH ban

6 May 2025

  • 2025 Employee Communications Report PROMOTED | HR and leadership...Read more
  • The Majority of Employees Have Their Eyes on Their Next Move PROMOTED | A staggering 65%...Read more
  • Prioritising performance management: Strategies for success (webinar) WEBINAR | In today’s fast-paced...Read more
  • Self-Leadership: The Key to Successful Organisations PROMOTED | Eletive is helping businesses...Read more
  • Retaining Female Talent: Four Ways to Reduce Workplace Drop Out PROMOTED | International Women’s Day...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 2025

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
  • Linkedin


© 2011 - 2025 DVV Media International Ltd

Personnel Today
  • Home
    • All PT content
  • Email sign-up
  • Topics
    • HR Practice
    • Employee relations
    • 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
    • Maternity & paternity
    • Shared parental leave
    • Redundancy
    • TUPE
    • Disciplinary and grievances
    • Employer’s guides
  • AWARDS
    • Personnel Today Awards
    • The RAD Awards
  • Jobs
    • Find a job
    • Jobs by email
    • Careers advice
    • Post a job
  • Brightmine
    • Learn more
    • Products
    • Free trial
    • Request a quote
  • Webinars
  • Advertise
  • OHW+