Britain has experienced a “sea change” in the proportion of women in top company boardrooms, with London gaining ground on Paris, according to a government study published Tuesday.
Women comprised almost 40 percent of all board positions of companies listed on London’s FTSE 100 index last year, data compiled by the state-backed FTSE Women Leaders Review showed.
London jumped from fifth place to sit behind the Paris CAC 40 index, which retained the top spot with just under 44 percent.
The panel said this highlighted “a major sea change in attitudes to getting women leaders to the top table of business in the UK”.
There were however just eight women chief executives of the British capital’s top 100 listed companies in 2021.
Nevertheless, the FTSE 100 had just 12.5 percent of women in board positions ten years ago.
‘Enormous progress’
“UK businesses have made enormous progress in recent years to ensure that everyone, whatever their background, can succeed on merit,” said Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng.
“Today’s findings highlight this with more women at the top table of Britain’s biggest companies than ever before.”
The panel proposed measures including a new voluntary target for FTSE 350 boards and leadership teams to be increased to a minimum level of 40 percent by the end of 2025.
“It is excellent to see the progress being made, but we know there is more to be done,” added women and equalities minister Liz Truss, who is also foreign secretary.
“This government is committed to … working to tackle inequality and promoting equality of opportunity, including at senior level, so everyone can thrive.”
The FTSE Women Leaders Review monitors and sets recommendations to improve women’s representation in 24,000 positions across the boardrooms and leadership teams of the largest UK firms.
The review, which charts progress in getting more female executives into senior roles, also wants other targets for the top 350 listed companies.
‘Much to do’
And it wants to extend the scope of the review beyond the FTSE 350 to include Britain’s 50 largest private companies by sales.
“We know there is much more work to do and no shortage of experienced, capable women, ambitious for themselves and their company across all sectors of business today,” said review chief executive Denise Wilson.
“So while we continue to build on progress for women on boards, we need to firmly shift focus in this next phase to women in leadership roles at the top of the organisation.”
Women chief executives are still rare among Britain’s largest listed companies, with only 16 among the top 350 firms on the London Stock Exchange as of March.