- UK on the podium in the world again for women’s
representation on top company boards
- British business on-track to meet target of 40% Women in
Leadership teams by end of 2025, with UK’s 50 largest private
companies keeping pace
The UK has cemented itself as a world-leader for women’s
representation on top company boards, with new data released
today (28 February) revealing that 40.2% of FTSE 350 Board
positions are now held by women.
The findings come as part of the latest report by the
government-backed FTSE Women Leaders
Review, sponsored by Lloyds Banking Group and KPMG, which was
launched today in Canary Wharf. The report tracks the
progress being made in breaking down
barriers to progression of talented women into
directorships and senior executive roles across business.
Today’s findings demonstrate steady progress in getting women
leaders to the top table of business in the UK, with women’s
board representation increasing by nearly 3% in 2022 across the
FTSE 350
(40.2%). FTSE350 Leadership positions
below the board for women are now at 33.5% and at 34.3% for the
50 of the UK’s largest private companies, published for the
first time this year.
Women now hold a third of all Leadership roles in
FTSE
350 Companies too, a huge milestone that shows the
continuing progress that is ongoing throughout businesses. The
next critical goal for business is to achieve a target of 40%
women in FTSE
350 Leadership teams before 2025 - which
UK business is on-track to meet.
Business and Trade Secretary and Women & Equalities Minister
said:
I’m pleased to see that FTSE 350 companies
have surpassed this target, showing that change doesn’t always
require top-down interventions but can occur when everyone is
pushing in the same direction.
This progress is very welcome, and I’d urge business to keep up
this momentum to achieve better balance
in leadership positions as well as in boardrooms.
Just over a decade ago, 152 of the FTSE 350 Boards had no
women on them at all - this is truly a thing of the past now,
with the presence of women on every board of the FTSE 350 and the vast
majority of the 350 companies now having 3 or more women on their
board.
With businesses hitting the 40% target for Women on Boards well
ahead of schedule, it is clear that momentum is on their side and
a sea change is still coming.
Today’s results secure the UK in second place when compared
internationally to other countries driving for more women on top
public listed boards.
This is especially notable, as the scope of the UK achievement is
across 350 public listed companies, and progress has been
achieved on an entirely voluntary basis, rather than by a
mandatory quota system that is enforced on businesses in many
countries.
The UK’s unique business-led approach has paid dividends, with
companies stepping forward to report their numbers, with high
levels of success.
Minister for Women said:
Making sure the right people are in the top roles is not just
morally right, it makes good business sense. I’m delighted to see
this huge progress, years ahead of when we expected it.
By working together, industry and government can make sure
inequality is a thing of the past - which is good for
individuals, for businesses, and for our country.
Nimesh Patel and Penny James, Co-Chairs, FTSE Women Leaders
Review, said:
Achieving 40 per cent representation for Women on
Boards is a defining moment and is testament to the power of
the voluntary approach and the collective efforts of many
businesses and individuals over the last decade.
By extending the Review to include for the first time 50 of the
largest UK private companies, our work now tracks progress of
women in 30,000 leadership roles across all of big British
business.
Businesses across the country have changed direction over the
past decade, with companies such as Greggs Plc, Severn Trent Plc and Vodafone Plcleading the way with more
women than men on their boards. When it comes to Women in
Leadership roles, companies such J Sainsburys Plc continue to perform well,
following several years of strong increases.
Haleon Plc are
further proof that change is already being instilled into British
business, having only newly demerged from GlaxoSmithKline this
year and already leading the way in the FTSE rankings.
Denise Wilson, Chief Executive, FTSE Women Leaders Review
said:
The celebration this year is for achieving the 40% target three
years ahead of the deadline, but it goes way beyond that as
celebration of the entirely voluntary nature of this achievement
and the combined and unstinting efforts of all the men and women
in British business who over the decade have joined together to
deliver real and unprecedented change.
