Win for diversity as all-male boards disappear from the FTSE 350
There are now no all-male boards across the entire FTSE 350, according to the latest data compiled for the 30% Club.
This is the second time that this milestone has been achieved.
The government-backed Hampton-Alexander Review reported that the last all-male board had diversified in May last year, only for all-male boards to return a month later.
Ann Cairns, the global chair of the 30% Club and executive vice-chair of Mastercard, said: “The eradication of all-male boards across Britain’s 350 biggest companies is cause for celebration, particularly at a time when Covid-19 threatens progress in women’s equality.
Time and again research has shown companies with diverse boardrooms and senior leadership outperform their peers. Simply put, diversity is good for business.”
However, with only a week to go until the final diversity report from the Hampton Alexander Review is released, it appears that not all of its targets have been met.
The target of a minimum of 33 per cent of women on boards of FTSE 350 companies was reached, according to data from BoardEx.
Yet, the same target set at the executive committee level has been missed, as the latest data indicates that only 21.5 per cent of board members at the executive committee level are women.
“There is still lots more work to be done to make sure all-male boards remain a thing of the past. Last year’s fleeting experience of their disappearance across the FTSE 350 proves how fragile progress in the UK’s corporate gender diversity remains,” added Cairns.