Number of Women in Boardrooms Declines

Although steadily on the increase since 2015, the number of women at boardroom level in FTSE companies has declined this year, according to analysis from Cranfield University. FTSE 250 firms saw quite a major drop- there are now only 30 female executives in these companies, which is down from 38 last year.FTSE 100 firms haven’t fared much better, with the amount of women at top level roles having remained almost entirely stagnant for the last four years.

Non-Executive Roles At All Time High

Despite the lack of women at executive boardroom levels, the amount of women occupying non-executive director roles is currently at an all time high. In FTSE 100 companies, just over 34% of non-exec director roles are occupied by women. All FTSE 100 companies also have at least one female director.

Diageo, Whitbread, and Glaxosmithklline were the top three companies in terms of female board members, with a breakdown as follows:

• Diageo: Six female non-executive directors, one female executive director (CFO).
• Whitbread: Four female non-executive directors, two female executive directors (Group HR Director, Chief Executive).
• Glaxosmithkline: Five female non-executive directors, one female executive director (CEO).

While there are some reasons to be cautiously positive about this data, there are still many aspects of the executive sphere that need more gender diversity. Board committees is one such area, with men currently chairing 293, while women only chair a total of 95.

Executive Pipeline for Women ‘Lacking Development’

The university’s report has highlighted the “complete lack of progress in developing the female executive pipeline.”, which accounts for the small numbers of female executive directors in both FTSE sectors.

Furthermore, it went on to state that there was really no excuse for either the stagnation of FTSE 100executive level diversity, or the declining amount of women in top roles at FTSE 250 companies: “We see that countries with mandated quotas make change happen; we need to apply the same lesson inside companies and penalise managers who do not meet their internal targets for hiring and promoting women. Gender diversity is a serious business issue.”.

The overall message from the report then, is that while more women are slowly getting into boardroom and executive roles, it isn’t happening as quickly as it needs to be. CBI Director General Carolyn Fairbarn pointed this out: “More women are taking their place in FTSE boardrooms, but the truth is it’s not happening fast enough. If the Hampton-Alexander target is to be met, much more needs to be done right now – particularly at senior levels below the executive team.”.

The current targets are for both FTSE 250 and 100 companies to have 33% of their boards made up of female directors. FTSE 100 companies are so far on slightly better track, with a percentage of 29%, than FTSE 250 companies, which are only at 23.7%. Cleary, there is still much work to be done across the board for all companies going forward.