A total of 35 FTSE 350 companies, including 14 in the FTSE 100, have been singled out for their low level of female representation at leadership level and challenged to make changes in an initiative led by the Investment Association (IA) and the Hampton-Alexander Review
Companies in the FTSE 100 who have all-male executive committees, such as BP and Smurfit Kappa Group, and companies whose combined executive committees and direct reports have low proportions of women, such as Persimmon and TUI, have been asked to explain their poor gender balance and what steps they are taking to move towards the targets as set out in the Hampton-Alexander Review.
The IA and the Hampton-Alexander Review have also written to 11 companies in the FTSE 250 who have all-male boards, including Sports Direct and Stobart Group, and ten companies who chose not to report their gender diversity data to the Hampton-Alexander Review last year, including the AA, J D Wetherspoon and Wizz Air.
IA, which represents UK investment managers who collectively own one third of the FTSE, is calling on businesses to take swift action to urgently address gender diversity.
Chris Cummings, IA chief executive, said: ‘The body of research is clear: firms with a diverse management team and pipeline make better decisions and drive innovation. The target of 33% for women in senior leadership positions by 2020 absolutely aligns with investors’ desire to see the companies they invest in recognising diversity as a critical business issue.
‘The Hampton-Alexander recommendations have now been in place since November 2016. Investors are becoming restless and want companies to take action.’
With the listed company annual general meeting (AGM)season in full swing, Cummings said a number of key investors have indicated they will vote against AGM resolutions on the grounds of gender representation.
Andrew Griffiths, business minister said: ‘While some of the UK’s largest companies have made great strides in recent years to improve diversity in the boardroom, we need all FTSE 350 firms to pull their weight if we’re to become a world leader on gender diversity.’
The ten companies (in the FTSE 100) with the lowest representation of women in their combined Executive Committee and Direct Reports, as at 30 June 2017 (the Hampton-Alexander target is 33%):
Report by Pat Sweet
