The number of women holding the most senior jobs in the boardrooms of Britain’s biggest companies has fallen, according to a report that criticises the lack of progress made by businesses in getting more women to the top.
Analysis from Cranfield University, as part of its 20th FTSE Women on Boards Report, shows a sharp drop in the number of women occupying chief executive (CEO), chief financial officer (CFO) or other executive roles on FTSE 250 boards, and static numbers at FTSE 100 companies.
Companies have, however, done better at promoting women to part-time non-executive directorships in order to meet targets; many women now hold a number of such boardroom roles.
There are now just 30 women in full-time executive roles at FTSE 250 firms, down from 38 last year – amounting to 6.4% of the total. They include six female chief executives and 19 female chief financial officers. Property firm Grainger stands out with women holding the chief executive and CFO jobs.
The report described this as a “woeful situation”, especially because the FTSE 250 - which largely consists of mid-sized UK-focused businesses - is often viewed as the pipeline for jobs at larger FTSE 100 companies.
On FTSE 100 boards, the percentage of women in leadership positions has flatlined for a fourth year at 9.7%. There are 25 women holding executive roles at 22 companies, the same as in 2017, with seven female chief executives and 10 female CFOs. Just three companies have two women in executive roles: Costa Coffee owner Whitbread and retailers Kingfisher and Next.
Moya Greene has stepped down from her CEO role at Royal Mail but will stay on until September, leaving just six women in the top job across FTSE 100 companies.
“The greatest concern raised in this report is the complete lack of progress in developing the female executive pipeline,” the study said.
“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.”
Women are now in 29% of directors’ seats on FTSE 100 boards, up from 27.7% in October 2017 because companies recruited more female non-executive directors; 264 women now hold 305 FTSE 100 directorships.
At present, 32 FTSE 100 companies have reached the target of 33% women on their boards, set by the government-backed Alexander-Hampton review for 2020. Drinks group Diageo comes top with 55% women on its board, followed by Whitbread and stockbroker Hargreaves Lansdown with 50%, and Britain’s biggest drugmaker GlaxoSmithKline and oil firm Royal Dutch Shell with 45% women on their boards.
The percentage of women on FTSE 250 boards has risen slightly from 22.8% to 23.7%, but the number of all-male boards has risen to 10. They include retailer Sports Direct and infrastructure firm Stobart Group.
The CBI director general, Carolyn Fairbairn, said: “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.”
