Women on boards 2013: Two years on the momentum is slowing

Lord Davies of Abersoch today (10th April 2013) published the second annual progress report into Women on Boards. Although there continues to be good progress made with greater female representation in the boardroom of the UK’s top companies Cranfield School of Management’s Female FTSE Report, also published today, notes that progress with the Women on Boards agenda in the FTSE 100 has stalled over the last six months.

Business Secretary Vince Cable said, "some progress has been made in the last three years. Today 94 of the FTSE 100 companies count women on their boards as do over two thirds of all FTSE 350 companies. However, the momentum appears to be slowing and there has been much less progress in executive appointments at the top."

Vince Cable added: "The argument for more women in our boardrooms is clear - they bring fresh perspectives and ideas, talent and broader experience which leads to better decision-making. This is not just about equality at the top of our companies. It is about good business sense."

As of 1 March 2013 the figures show within the FTSE 100:

women now account for 17.3 per cent of all directorships, up from 10.5 per cent in 2010. There are now 192 women directors on FTSE 100 boards out of a total of 1,110.
women have accounted for 34 per cent of all board appointments (45 out of 134 appointments)
there are currently 94 boards with female representation

In the FTSE 250 the figures show:

women now account for 13.2 per cent of directorships, up from in 6.7 per cent in 2010
women have accounted for 26 per cent of board appointments
there are currently 183 boards with female representation
for the second year running, all-male boards are in the minority at 26.8 per cent.

Between 2008 and 2010, the number of women directors had effectively plateaued, stalling at less than a single percentage point rise year-on-year. Since work began on this area ago the percentage of female board appointments has increased by nearly 50%.

Secretary of State Vince Cable wrote to the remaining all-male FTSE 100 boards in January asking them what steps they were taking to increase the diversity in their boardrooms. Today he has also written to the remaining all-male boards in the FTSE 250.

Cranfield School of Management’s Female FTSE Report, also published today, notes that progress with the Women on Boards agenda in the FTSE 100 has stalled over the last six months. It does, however note that the UK is on target to meet Lord Davies’ recommendation from his original report that the UK should have 25% women on FTSE 100 boards by 2015.

About Lord Davies’s Review of Women on Boards

In February 2011 Lord Davies of Abersoch published his report Women on Boards which set out a strategy aimed at ensuring that more women were appointed to boardroom positions. He asked all FTSE 350 companies to set targets for the number of women they expected to have on their boards and executive committees in 2015. Lord Davies recommended that FTSE 100 boards should aim for a minimum 25% female representation on their boards by 2015.

Click here for Lord Davies's Review of Women on Boards 2011