The government has announced that Sir Philip Hampton, chairman of GlaxoSmithKline, is to lead an independent review on increasing representation of women in the executive level of FTSE 350 companies, where 80% of directorships are held by men
This is the follow-on from Lord Davies’s women on boards review which saw female representation on boards in the FTSE 100 rise from 12.5% to beyond the target of 25%.
In 2011 there were 152 all-male boards in the FTSE 350 index, today there are only 15 companies with all-male boards, all in the FTSE 250 – but dwindling, according to the Improving the gender balance on British boards.
Today 682 women in total sit on boards across the FTSE 350, compared to only 289 in 2011. However, this means that nearly 80% of FTSE board members are male, although this is up dramatically on 2010 when there were only 9.5% of women on boards.
Across the whole FTSE 350 only 109 of 535 women (20%) hold more than one listed board directorship.
With a brief to significantly improve female representation, the deputy chair of the review will be Dame Helen Alexander, chair of marketing and communications firm UBM, and the first female president of the CBI. She is also a non-executive director of Rolls-Royce and senior adviser to Bain Capital.
The review will focus on building the pipeline for female executives and emerging non-executive directors, with the aim of continuing the work already done on increasing board representation.
Sajid Javid, business secretary, said: ‘The employment rate for women has never been higher and there are now more women on FTSE boards than ever before. But we need to go further, particularly when it comes to paving the way to the executive level.
‘This is not just about diversity for diversity’s sake, but about improving performance and productivity.’
Hampton was previously chair of RBS and J Sainsbury, and was group finance director at Lloyds TSB, BT, BG Group, British Gas and British Steel.
Hampton said: ‘I will focus on improving representation in the executive layer of companies, as well as maintaining the momentum on boards. This means looking at the talent pipeline for female executives and emerging non-executive directors to ensure we create opportunities and the right conditions for women to succeed.’
Women on Boards Davies Review Five Year Summary October 2015 - Improving the Gender Balance of British Boards, report is available here
