Tuesday 28 February 2023 3:39 pm  |  Updated:  Tuesday 28 February 2023 3:40 pm

Why gender parity is still 70 years away despite two thirds of FTSE 350 company boards comprising of women

By: Samantha Downes

The UK claims to be a world-leader for women’s representation on top company boards, with data revealing that 40.2 per cent of FTSE 350 board positions are now held by women.

The findings were part of a report by the Government-backed FTSE Women Leaders Review, which is sponsored by Lloyds Banking Group and KPMG.

Adopting a voluntary approach, the review captures and publishes leadership gender data for over 30,000 employees on boards and in leadership roles two layers below the board, across all sectors of British business on an annual basis. 

It tracks the progress being made in breaking down barriers to progression of women into directorships and senior executive roles across business.

Findings showed some progress in getting women leaders to the top table of business in the UK, with women’s board representation increasing by nearly three per cent in 2022 across the FTSE 350 to 40.2 per cent.

FTSE 350 leadership positions below the board for women were at 33.5 per cent and at 34.3 per cent 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, with the aim to achieve a target of 40 per cent women in FTSE 350 leadership teams before 2025 – which UK business appears to be on-track to meet. 

Kemi Badenoch, business and trade secretary and women and 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, the report showed that in the 2023 FTSE 350 the vast majority of the 350 companies now have three or more women on their board.

The UK’s unique business-led approach has paid dividends, with companies stepping forward to report their numbers, with high levels of success, the report claims.

Gender parity and the glass cliff

Laura Sanderson, UK country manager of Russell Reynolds Associates (RRA) said balanced boards will be more innovative and more effective at navigating the volatility, uncertainty, change and ambiguity of the current environment.

Sanderson said this was not enough.

She said: “While there has been great progress in opening up non-executive director roles to women, diversity in the top jobs is still limited. “

” At the current rate of change, it will be around 70 years before there are the same number of male and female FTSE 100 CEOs. “

“Companies need to continue to work assiduously on their executive succession planning, ensuring that they have a gender balanced pipeline. “

“There are still some misperceptions around female CEOs, and the “glass cliff” phenomenon (whereby female CEOs are more likely to be appointed to crisis-stricken businesses and face unreasonable scrutiny from the media, the board or investors) is also a very real risk to progress.  

“While the rapidly growing number of women in chair, senior independent director and CFO roles is an important part of the solution, it won’t fix the problem alone. Businesses must be more courageous and imaginative in backing talented women to take the next step.

“The belief that the CEOs of the future must look, sound and behave like those from the past is holding all of us back.” 

As part of the review, RRA shared its own appointment statistics which showed:

• 50 per cent of our FTSE 100 and 61 per cent of our FTSE 250 chair, board, and ED appointments in 2022 have been women.  
• 57 per cent of our FTSE 350 Chair, Board, and ED appointments in 2022 have been women. 
• Across all our FTSE 350 assignment in 2022, our shortlists averaged 53 per cent of women.  

Supporting data: Slow progress on gender diversity in senior roles 

Maria Caulfield, 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 tothe 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.”

They pointed out businesses across the country have changed direction over the past decade, with companies such as Greggs Plc, Severn Trent Plc and Vodafone Plc leading 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”.

Fiona Cannon, group sustainable business director, Lloyds Banking Group, said: “Lloyds Banking Group is pleased to be able to co-sponsor the FTSE Women Leaders Review. We have been committed to creating a more gender-balanced workplace for some time now and recognise that companies with diverse leadership teams see increased performance and make better decisions. 

For us to have achieved 45.5 per cent of women on boards and 40.8 per cent in women in leadership demonstrates the progress we have made. But we won’t stop there, with plenty of talented women ready to progress into senior leadership roles, we need to make sure that there are opportunities available for them to succeed.”

Bina Mehta, chair at KPMG UK, said:  “The past year has been full of challenges for business, but these haven’t detracted from their efforts to improve the representation of women in leadership roles. Navigating trickier times has crystallised the business case for greater diversity and inclusion, at publicly listed and private companies alike. Now more than ever businesses require the fresh thinking and different perspectives diversity brings, helping them to solve the complex challenges they face.

 “Hitting the 40 per cent milestone three years ahead of target is certainly an achievement. Our work to maintain this momentum has only just begun, with the focus now turning to the pipeline of well-qualified and capable women rising through the ranks to become tomorrow’s business leaders.”