Number of UK women directors in the FTSE 100 falls again

25 November 2001 - Gender equality takes a backward step in the boardroom as a new report shows that the number of UK women directors in the FTSE 100 has fallen for the third year running.

Research carried out by the Centre for Developing Women Business Leaders, Cranfield School of Management (specialising in studying women in corporate leadership) builds on what was described last year as the FTSE Female Index shows that 57% of Britain's leading businesses have women directors. This compares with 58% last year and 64% in 1999. 43 firms in the FTSE 100 have no women on their board, and a mere 2% of executive directors are women.

But intriguingly, the most successful companies are more likely to have women on their boards. Of the top 20 FTSE businesses, 17 (85%) have women directors. Conversely just 10 of the bottom 20 firms had at least one female director.

Main findings include:

* Only one company has a female CEO
* 10 women hold executive directorships
* Industry sectors with the least women directors are media, tobacco and energy
* Retail, pharmaceuticals and financial services have the most women directors
* 15 FTSE 100 companies have two or more female directors
* 58 women hold 66 non-executive directorships and 10 women hold executive directorships this year out of 1166 available seats. This is a marginal increase from last year, when 52 women held 58 non-executive directorships and 11 women held executive directorships out of 1188 available seats.

Some companies are bucking the trend. For the first time in the history of the FTSE 100, three companies - Marks and Spencer, Legal and General and AstraZeneca - have three female directors. And until November Legal and General had a record four female directors - the first time for any FTSE 100 company.

The 2001 league table places Marks and Spencer at the top with a 25% female board. Logica is second with two female non-executive directors from of a total of eight. Legal and General and AstraZeneca are joint third with three women out of 13. In last place are BHP Billiton and Standard Chartered - both with 18 board members - none of whom were women.

Harriet Harman said: "British boardrooms are one of the last remaining 'no-go' areas for women. We lag far behind the US, where business recognises the value of diversity and reflects on their boards the importance of women employees and women consumers. The task is to continue to expose the extent of the problem, to work for change, to achieve our target that within the next two years, there should be no all-male boards in the FTSE top 100, to monitor progress and to provide a support network to the women who make their way onto boards. The boards of British business should be a meritocracy - not just "chairman's chums"." Harriet Harman will be discussing these findings at the Voice on the Board Conference on 30th November at One Whitehall Place, London.

Sue Vinnicombe, professor of organisational behaviour and diversity management, and Director of the Centre for Developing Women Business Leaders at Cranfield School of Management, co-authored the report said: "It is disappointing to see another drop in the number of companies in the FTSE 100 with women directors. It is also interesting that this is seen as a women's issue. Until male chairmen and CEOs are willing to engage in this debate I feel the situation will not improve. They are the key catalysts for boardroom change."

Angela Ishmael, head of Dignity at Work at The Industrial Society said: "Women are proving their ability in education, as entrepreneurs and in the workplace - against their success in these areas, the inability of boardrooms to include women amongst their numbers begins to look like sheer resistance. UK employers must harness the ability, talent, creativity and determination that many women in the workplace so clearly possess."

Mary-Ann Stephenson, director of the Fawcett Society, commented: "Successful businesses know that they cannot afford to miss out on the talents of half the population, but while women are moving up into senior management change at board room level is still too slow. Too many boards of Directors remain all male clubs. Its not that there are not able women out there - it's time some businesses took advantage of what they have to offer."

Val Singh, co-author of the research and senior research fellow at Cranfield, said: "The fact that more women are being appointed to boards where there are already women directors indicates that the pioneer women have done very well. This means there should be fewer concerns about whether women can do the top jobs. The appointments within Marks & Spencer and Legal & General provide some hope for the future. Our report highlights that women directors have a wealth of experience and a range of skills to complement existing boards. Why are so many chairmen and CEOs still not managing this valuable resource?"

Female Index 2000
Female Index 2003

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