Women made up 25.2% of FTSE 100 company executive committees and direct reports to these committees, up from 25.1% in 2016, according to the latest report of the Hampton-Alexander Review, an independent business-led review supported by government. In 2016, the review set a series of recommendations aimed at increasing the number of women in leadership positions of major corporations.
The increase in women’s representation in 2017 is described as ‘minimal’ in the latest report, but the review is heartened by improvements in transparency – all FTSE 100 companies submitted leadership data to this year’s process. A target for women to make up 33% of executive committees and direct reports has, this year, been extended to FTSE 250 companies, where women currently make up 24% of these jobs.
As for women members of top company boards, progress picked up in 2017 after a slow year in 2016 – women now make up 27.7% of boards compared to 26.6% last year, the latest report finds.
Commenting on the report, Ben Willmott, head of public policy at the CIPD said:
‘A successful, sustainable female executive talent pipeline will only come about from developing women at every level of the organisation, and every level of their careers. In order for organisations to reach these existing targets, they need to understand how women are recruited, developed and promoted and the barriers to female progression to senior roles.’