FTSE 350 boards more than a third female for the first time
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For the first time more than a third of board members at the UK’s biggest 350 companies are women, new data has revealed.
According to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, representation of women at the top of FTSE 350 businesses has risen by 3.8 per cent in the last year.
That takes the percentage of women on such boards above 33 per cent, the threshold set by the government-sponsored Hampton-Alexander review in 2016.
According to the latest data, 41 per cent of FTSE 350 firms still have not hit the 33 per cent mark. Business secretary Alok Sharma called for them to do so before December, the review’s target date.
“While I am pleased that the FTSE 350 as a whole has finally hit this historic landmark, more than 100 of the UK’s top companies have failed to meet the target”, he said.
“Research shows that diverse leadership teams are more innovative and make better decisions.
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“As the UK economy continues to recover from coronavirus, increasing representation of women on boards represents a golden opportunity not only to rebuild, but build back better.”
The data has also revealed that 19 boards within the FTSE 250 remain ‘one and done’ boards, where companies appoint a single woman board member and go no further.
And there is only one all-male board, a dramatic change from 2011, when there were 152 such boards.
The review’s chief executive Denise Wilson said that the data was “encouraging” and showed that the UK’s voluntary approach to allowing firm’s to change their board make-ups was effective.
”Recognising the significant impact of the global COVID-19 pandemic on all business activities, it is encouraging to see the number of women at the top of British business continue to increase”, she said.
A full list of the businesses’ board make-ups will be published in due course.
“This confirms the UK’s business-led voluntary approach is working and the benefits of diversity are being recognised, with business seeking more than ever those with fresh energy, new ideas and diverse perspectives.”