It was announced today that the Government would back a new five-year review to monitor women’s representation in the upper rungs of FTSE companies – The FTSE Women Leaders Review – and encourage firms to open up opportunities to everyone.
The scheme follows the hugely successful Hampton-Alexander Review that saw 50 per cent increase in women on FTSE boards in just five years.
The Hampton Alexander Review, which ran from 2015 to 2020, found that its main target had been more than met, with over a third (34.3 per cent) of FTSE350 board positions held by women. The numbers of ‘one and done’ boards – with only one woman member – dwindled from 116 in 2015 to just 16 earlier this year.
Speaking about the announcement, Business Minister Paul Scully said, “UK business has taken great strides when it comes to gender diversity at board level, underlining the success of the government’s voluntary approach.”
“Companies shouldn’t take their foot off the gas.”
“Evidence shows that more diverse businesses are more successful businesses – the case is too strong to ignore.”
Today, the new FTSE Women Leaders Review opened its online portal for FTSE companies to submit their gender diversity data. New leadership is currently being appointed to steer the review, and take forward new targets over the coming years.
