London’s small-cap firms fall behind FTSE 100 on diversity targets
The lack of diversity in boardrooms goes well beyond the FTSE 100 with new research showing just how little progress small-cap firms have made.
A staggering 84 per cent of AIM and 78 per cent of Small Cap 100 companies have all white boards, over double the proportion seen in the FTSE 100.
Some progress on gender diversity has been made; women now make up 33 per cent of MC boards, ahead of the FTSE 250, with two fifths of new appointments being women last year. Similarly, the proportion of women directors among AIM UK 50 has risen over the year to 20 per cent, although this is almost entirely driven by non-executive directors rather than executives.
Buton AIM UK boards there are just three black directors, two of these being members of Pan African Resources, and no executives.
The vast majority of AIM UK 50 directors and SMC are white – 96 per cent and 95 per cent respectively – with just one net addition in both groups last year.
“The top FTSE 350 listed companies in the UK tend to dominate attention in the diversity debate. But they are not fully representative of UK corporate culture,” Tracey Brady, managing director of Company Matters said. “There are more than a thousand smaller listed companies on the main market and AIM indices… they employ far more people”.
Most worryingly, the diversity report reveals just two AIM UK 50 and seven Small Cap 100 companies have set quantifiable targets for diversity. Despite the wide use of the UK Corporate Governance code, which expects companies to publish details on diversity, the proportion of small-cap firms has fallen to seven per cent.
“If such large proportions of the population are not rising to the top because of their race, gender or age, then huge pools of talent are going untapped, limiting the potential for individuals and the whole economy,” Brady added.