Women representation on FTSE 100 boards continues to increase, but Business Secretary Vince Cable has cautioned that companies must not let up in their efforts to deliver 25% gender diversity to their boardrooms by 2015.
On 2 October 2014, statistics show that:
- FTSE 100 – women’s representation on boards has increased to 22.8% – up from 20.7% in March 2014
- FTSE 250 – women’s representation on boards has increased to 17.4% – up from 15.6% in March 2014
There are no all-male boards in the FTSE 100 as of July 2014. 20 more boards in the FTSE 250 have appointed at least one woman since March 2014 but 28 all-male boards remain. Vince Cable and Lord Davies have written to the chairmen of those remaining 28 companies urging them to look again at new talent.
Business Secretary Vince Cable said: “Although our target is in sight, we must keep up the momentum. All companies with fewer than 25% of women on their board need to take firm action now to increase female representation.
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“Outstanding progress has been made, but we need to see the pace increase within both FTSE 100 and 250 companies to reach our target by 2015. Companies need to harness all available talent – better balanced boards are vital to securing the future competitiveness of UK.”
Lord Davies said: “From a low start at 12.5% in 2011 to 22.8% today, progress of this order is by any standards an amazing achievement. Our goal is clearly in sight, albeit 25% is not gender parity.
“Having reached a position where it is unacceptable for the voice of women to be absent from the boardroom, it is disappointing to see there are still 28 all-male boards in the FTSE 250. Every single company needs to address the issue of gender balance in the boardroom and make sure they support UK business in our collective goal.”
Latest FTSE 100 figures also show (2 October 2014):
- women account for 27.9% of Non-Executive Directorships and 8.4% of Executive Directorships
- women account for 249 of the 1,094 FTSE100 board positions
- there have been 27 new female appointments in the last 6months; there were 33 in the previous 6 months
- 39 companies now have 25% or more women’s representation on their boards, up from 36 in March 2014
- however, 7 companies have moved from above 25% representation to below since March 2014. Overall, there are 17 companies in the FTSE 100 whose women’s representation figures have fallen in the last 6 months
- 31.8% of all new appointments in FTSE 100 went to women in the last 6 months, down from 35.5% in the previous 6 months
Latest FTSE 250 figures also show (2 October 2014):
- women now account for 17.4% of overall board directorships, up from 15.6% in March 2014 and 7.8% in 2011
- of this, women account for 22% of non-executive directorships and 5.1% of executive directorships
- 24.3% of all new appointments in FTSE 250 went to women in the last 6 months, down from 33.3% in the previous 6 months
