But when it came to those in decision-making leadership positions – as opposed to non-executive directors – the proportion of women fell to 35.3%, though this too improved from the previous year when 34.5% of CEOs, chief financial officers and those directly reporting to the leaders were women.
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At the very top, the review reveals that the number of female chief executives in the FTSE 350 fell from 20 to 19, or 0.5% of the total. There were nine female chief executives among the FTSE 100, along with 28 finance directors and 16 chairs.
Overall progress has been achieved despite more firms looking to “weed out” costly or ineffective diversity goals, according to the chief executive of the FTSE Women Leaders Review. In the US, a number of large organisations such as Google, Meta, Amazon and McDonald’s have scaled back diversity programmes amid political pressure following Donald Trump’s presidential election victory.
“You can’t ignore the fact that there’s a lot of questioning going on, particularly from across the ocean, in relation to DEI (diversity, equality and inclusion),” Vivienne Artz told the PA news agency.
But she added that the Women Leaders Review was “really pleased and impressed” with the willingness of companies to share their data, “so we haven’t encountered any resistance in the UK”.
The government said overall progress was positive given the UK’s voluntary approach to diversity. This is in contrast to countries such as France and Belgium, which have mandatory quota systems for women on boards at publicly listed companies.
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About 100 of the top 350 listed companies still had fewer than a third of their leadership positions occupied by women, but almost three-quarters were meeting or exceeding the UK’s 40% target. Among the UK’s largest private companies, the proportion of women on the boards of directors stood at 31%.
The listed firms with the highest proportion of female leaders include retailers Marks & Spencer, Next, and Burberry, and publishing giants Pearson and Bloomsbury, all of which have more than 50% female representation.
“The UK is leading the charge for gender equality in boardrooms, but we cannot rest on our laurels,” said Chancelloe Rachel Reeves, the first-ever woman to hold that role.
“We must break down the barriers that stop many women being represented in decision-making roles, so that top talent reaches the highest levels of leadership in businesses driving economic growth across Britain.”
