UK experiences 'sea change' in proportion of women in top company boardrooms

London gains ground on Paris, with 40% of female executives sitting at the top table last year

Female board representation at companies listed on France's CAC index stood at 43.8 per cent in 2021. Bloomberg

London jumped from fifth place into second place, with 39.1 per cent of board seats at FTSE 100 companies occupied by women. Getty

Norway is in third place, with the number of women sitting at the top table of OBX-listed companies at 38.2 per cent. AFP

The UK's FTSE 350 index is fourth, with a female board representation of 37.6 per cent. AFP

Women comprise 36.9 per cent of the boards of companies listed on Sweden's OMX Stockholm index. Getty

Businesses listed on the Netherlands' AEX index have women occupying 35.3 per cent of board seats. Reuters

Female board representation on Australia's S&P ASX index stood at 35.1 per cent in 2021. Reuters

Finland's OMX Helsinki index has a female board representation of 35.1 per cent. Alamy

Belgium's BEL Institutional index has a female board representation of 34.3 per cent. Alamy

Women make up 34 per cent of the boards of companies listed on Spain's Ibex index. EPA

Britain has experienced a “sea change” in the proportion of women in top company boardrooms, a study has revealed.

The research, published on Tuesday, shows that London has climbed four spaces and is now behind Paris, with 40 per cent of all board positions of companies listed on London's FTSE 100 index occupied by women last year.

London jumped from fifth place to sit behind the Paris CAC 40 index, which retained the top spot with slightly less than 44 per cent, data compiled by the state-backed FTSE Women Leaders Review showed.

The panel said this highlighted “a major sea change in attitudes to getting women leaders to the top table of business in the UK".

Despite only eight of the British capital's top 100 listed companies having women chief executives last year, it marks enormous progress from the FTSE 100 having only 12.5 per cent of women in board positions 10 years ago.

“UK businesses have made enormous progress in recent years to ensure that everyone, whatever their background, can succeed on merit,” UK Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng said.

“Today's findings highlight this, with more women at the top table of Britain's biggest companies than ever before.”

The panel proposed measures such as a new voluntary target for FTSE 350 boards and leadership teams to be increased to a minimum level of 40 per cent by the end of 2025.

“It is excellent to see the progress being made but we know there is more to be done,” Women and Equalities Minister Liz Truss said.

“This government is committed to working to tackle inequality and promoting equality of opportunity, including at senior level, so everyone can thrive.”

The FTSE Women Leaders Review monitors and sets recommendations to improve women's representation in 24,000 positions across the boardrooms and leadership teams of the largest UK companies.

The review, which charts progress in ensuring more female executives occupy senior roles, also wants other targets for the top 350 listed companies.

It also wants to extend the scope of the review beyond the FTSE 350 to include Britain's 50 largest private companies by sales.

“We know there is much more work to do and no shortage of experienced, capable women, ambitious for themselves and their company across all sectors of business today,” said review chief executive Denise Wilson.

“So, while we continue to build on progress for women on boards, we need to firmly shift focus in this next phase to women in leadership roles at the top of the organisation.”

Women chief executives are still rare among Britain's largest listed companies, with only 16 among the top 350 businesses on the London Stock Exchange as of March 2021.