Hong Kong News

Nonpartisan, Noncommercial, unconstrained.
Friday, Mar 29, 2024

Women hold third of board roles at top UK firms

One in three board positions at the UK's biggest companies is now held by a woman, a government-backed review has found.

The Hampton-Alexander Review latest report found 349 women currently sit on boards at FTSE 100 firms.

The government said the review's "fantastic work" had seen it hit the target almost a year early.

But the review also highlighted a lack of women in senior and executive roles - making up 15% of finance directors.

That compared with women making up 66% of human resource directors, the report said.

The review's chief executive, Denise Wilson, told the BBC that problems such as unconscious bias and gender stereotypes around what a leader should look like were preventing further progress.

"I think 33% is a very good start, but as we can see, we have a lot further to go before we see a good gender balance in the leadership of British business," she said.

Business Secretary Andrea Leadsome said that businesses had achieved the one in three target voluntarily and without the need for legislation or fines but called on firms to do more.

"The Hampton-Alexander Review has done fantastic work but it's clear that women continue to face barriers to success, whether that's through promotion to key roles or how they are treated by colleagues," she added.

The Institute of Directors welcomed the report as evidence that focusing the spotlight on diversity could change the behaviour of big companies. However, it cautioned that it was not a case of job done.

Women on Boards UK chief executive Fiona Hathorn described progress outside the FTSE 350 - a longer list of leading firms - and in UK business as a whole, as glacial.

She called for the lens to move from the board alone to improving representation at the top levels of company management.


'Surprisingly challenging'

Francesca Ecsery, a director at an investment firm, says that men often still outnumber women in the boardroom because "change is painful".

"There is a huge value attributed to chemistry on the board, and of course chemistry you have, mainly, with people like you," she says. And that's not good for diversity, she adds.

Ms Ecsery never felt held back in her management consultancy and marketing careers. "I was always on the revenue side of a business, so provided I delivered, I was able to get ahead."

Later, she decided to seek non-executive director roles - and was astonished how hard they were to get.

"I found it surprisingly challenging. You read in the media that boards need women. I certainly thought that with my executive career and digital career, you know - I had big company and small company experience - but I could not get through."

Ms Ecsery attributes her breakthrough to targeting businesses which had followed good recruitment practices instead of "tapping people on the shoulder on the golf course".

She now serves on the boards of a range of companies including Air France and FTSE 250-listed F&C Investment Trust.

Trade union body the TUC has also called for further changes to the workplace to help boost female representation in top roles.

"Men are still seven times more likely to be finance directors than women," said TUC general secretary Frances O'Grady.

"The government won't be able to achieve gender equality unless it makes work more family-friendly, and unless it tackles sexist aggression towards women."


How did we get here?


Since 2011, two government-backed reviews have focused on boosting women's representation on the boards of UK-listed companies.

Under the Davies Review, which ran from 2011 to 2015, the proportion of women serving on FTSE 100 boards increased from 12% to 25%. The rise in the FTSE 250 was from 9% to 22%, still lagging the 33% target.

Its successor, the Hampton-Alexander Review, encourages FTSE 350 companies to meet a 33% target by the end of 2020. Unlike countries including France which have introduced quotas, it is voluntary.


Newsletter

Related Articles

Hong Kong News
0:00
0:00
Close
It's always the people with the dirty hands pointing their fingers
Paper straws found to contain long-lasting and potentially toxic chemicals - study
FTX's Bankman-Fried headed for jail after judge revokes bail
Blackrock gets half a trillion dollar deal to rebuild Ukraine
Steve Jobs' Son Launches Venture Capital Firm With $200 Million For Cancer Treatments
Google reshuffles Assistant unit, lays off some staffers, to 'supercharge' products with A.I.
End of Viagra? FDA approved a gel against erectile dysfunction
UK sanctions Russians judges over dual British national Kara-Murza's trial
US restricts visa-free travel for Hungarian passport holders because of security concerns
America's First New Nuclear Reactor in Nearly Seven Years Begins Operations
Southeast Asia moves closer to economic unity with new regional payments system
Political leader from South Africa, Julius Malema, led violent racist chants at a massive rally on Saturday
Today Hunter Biden’s best friend and business associate, Devon Archer, testified that Joe Biden met in Georgetown with Russian Moscow Mayor's Wife Yelena Baturina who later paid Hunter Biden $3.5 million in so called “consulting fees”
'I am not your servant': IndiGo crew member, passenger get into row over airline meal
Singapore Carries Out First Execution of a Woman in Two Decades Amid Capital Punishment Debate
Spanish Citizenship Granted to Iranian chess player who removed hijab
US Senate Republican Mitch McConnell freezes up, leaves press conference
Speaker McCarthy says the United States House of Representatives is getting ready to impeach Joe Biden.
San Francisco car crash
This camera man is a genius
3D ad in front of Burj Khalifa
Next level gaming
BMW driver…
Google testing journalism AI. We are doing it already 2 years, and without Google biased propoganda and manipulated censorship
Unlike illegal imigrants coming by boats - US Citizens Will Need Visa To Travel To Europe in 2024
Musk announces Twitter name and logo change to X.com
The politician and the journalist lost control and started fighting on live broadcast.
The future of sports
Unveiling the Black Hole: The Mysterious Fate of EU's Aid to Ukraine
Farewell to a Music Titan: Tony Bennett, Renowned Jazz and Pop Vocalist, Passes Away at 96
Alarming Behavior Among Florida's Sharks Raises Concerns Over Possible Cocaine Exposure
Transgender Exclusion in Miss Italy Stirs Controversy Amidst Changing Global Beauty Pageant Landscape
Joe Biden admitted, in his own words, that he delivered what he promised in exchange for the $10 million bribe he received from the Ukraine Oil Company.
TikTok Takes On Spotify And Apple, Launches Own Music Service
Global Trend: Using Anti-Fake News Laws as Censorship Tools - A Deep Dive into Tunisia's Scenario
Arresting Putin During South African Visit Would Equate to War Declaration, Asserts President Ramaphosa
Hacktivist Collective Anonymous Launches 'Project Disclosure' to Unearth Information on UFOs and ETIs
Typo sends millions of US military emails to Russian ally Mali
Server Arrested For Theft After Refusing To Pay A Table's $100 Restaurant Bill When They Dined & Dashed
The Changing Face of Europe: How Mass Migration is Reshaping the Political Landscape
China Urges EU to Clarify Strategic Partnership Amid Trade Tensions
The Last Pour: Anchor Brewing, America's Pioneer Craft Brewer, Closes After 127 Years
Democracy not: EU's Digital Commissioner Considers Shutting Down Social Media Platforms Amid Social Unrest
Sarah Silverman and Renowned Authors Lodge Copyright Infringement Case Against OpenAI and Meta
Why Do Tech Executives Support Kennedy Jr.?
The New York Times Announces Closure of its Sports Section in Favor of The Athletic
BBC Anchor Huw Edwards Hospitalized Amid Child Sex Abuse Allegations, Family Confirms
Florida Attorney General requests Meta CEO's testimony on company's platforms' alleged facilitation of illicit activities
The Distorted Mirror of actual approval ratings: Examining the True Threat to Democracy Beyond the Persona of Putin
40,000 child slaves in Congo are forced to work in cobalt mines so we can drive electric cars.
×