Women on boards: one year on
Lord Davies has published the first annual progress report on his ground-breaking review of Women on Boards.
The report tracks the progress that has been made against each of Lord Davies’ ten original recommendations. His primary recommendation proposed that FTSE 350 boards should aim for a minimum of 25 per cent female representation by 2015.
_Download the progress report in full _ (PDF, 389 Kb)
Since the review was published a year ago, the largest-ever annual increase in the percentage of women on boards has been seen. This reflects a growing recognition of the benefits gained by business, the economy and society by appointing more women to decision-making roles.
Lord Davies said:
“I believe that we are finally seeing a culture change taking place right at the very heart of British business in relation to how women are seen within the workforce.
“Some excellent work has taken place and I want to take this opportunity to thank the many Chairmen, Chief Executive Officers, business organisations, training providers, networks, journalists and individual business men and women whose commitment to this issue remains unstinting.
“However, I must also emphasise that efforts need to be ramped up and the speed of change accelerated if we’re to avoid Government interference.”
Lord Davies’ review was published alongside the Cranfield School of Management’s Female FTSE report, which looks at female board representation in FTSE 100 companies. It highlights that if the current momentum is maintained, a record 26.7% female board representation in FTSE 100 companies would be achieved by 2015.
Business Secretary Vince Cable said:
“This report provides real evidence that business is taking the issue of board diversity seriously and is voluntarily working to bring about the necessary changes. It demonstrates why we do not support the notion of quotas and why we think it would be inappropriate for Europe to impose them.”
**Women on Boards: One Year On (BIS report) **
As of the end of February 2012, within the FTSE 100:
- Women now account for 15.6 per cent of all directorships, up from 12.5 per cent
- 47 female appointments have been made since publication of the women on boards report last February
- 27 per cent of all board appointments have been taken up by women, up from 13 per cent
- Just 11 all-male boards remain, down from 21
Within the FTSE 250:
- Women account for 9.6 per cent of all directorships, up from 7.8 per cent
- 26 per cent of all board appointments have been taken by women
- For the first time ever all-male boards are in the minority, 112 companies, or 44.8 per cent, down from 52.4 per cent
- 53 female appointments have been made since publication of the women on boards report last February
** Female FTSE 2012 (Cranfield Report) **
- There are 141 women holding 163 FTSE 100 board seats (out of 1086 board positions)
- There are 20 (6.6 per cent) female executive directorships and 143 (22.4 per cent) female non-executive directorships
- The number of companies with no women has dropped to 11, from 21
- The number of companies with more than one woman on the board has increased to 50
- Of the 47 new female appointments, 29 of the women (62 per cent) have had no prior FTSE board experience.