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Our Inclusion Summit is back!
The FTSE Women Leaders Review, with the backing of the UK government, has set targets for increasing the representation of women on the boards of FTSE 350 companies and 50 of the UK’s largest private companies, including achieving 40% of women on Boards by 2025. The launch of the 2024 Review reveals the latest findings and looks at ways in which organisations need to create and implement positive change in order to meet the 2025 goal.
“It is about fairness of opportunity for all.”
Denise Wilson OBE (CEO, FTSE Women Leaders Review)
Highlights: FTSE 100
Women on Executive Committees reached 30% for the first time
Strong progress at Executive Committee and Direct Reports level - up from 34.3% in 2022 to 35.2% in 2023
Representation of women has increased with 445 women serving out of a total of 1044 directorships
WiHTL & DiR Member Organisations
FTSE 100: 40% Women on Boards target met includes:
IHG
Sainsbury’s
JD Sports
Kingfisher
Tesco
Highlights: FTSE 250
Number of women in the Combined Executive Committee & Direct Reports increased to 33.9% (up from 32.8% in 2022)
Increased the representation of Women on Boards further this year to 41.8%
WiHTL & DiR Member Organisations
FTSE 250: 40% Women on Boards target met includes:
C&C Group
Dunelm
easyJet
Pet at Home - ranked #6 in Top 10 performers for combined Executive Committee and Direct Reports (50.9%)
SSP Group
TUI
Watches of Switzerland
WH Smith
Top 50 Private Companies
It is encouraging to see how many private companies are engaging to increase women representation, and almost in line with public entities. In the second year of reporting in 2023, private companies show:
36% Women in Leadership (34.3% in 2022)
31% Women on Boards (31.8% in 2022)
41% of appointments going to women
WiHTL & DiR Member Organisations:
Top 50 Private Companies: Women in Leadership
AF Blakemore (40%)
Asda (41%)
EG Group (15%)
John Lewis (62%) – #1 for best performer
Matalan (47%)
Merlin Entertainments (30%)
Specsavers (33%)
The Co–operative Group (33%)
Virgin Atlantic (38%)
Looking forwards and continuing to progress
Progress has been incredible so far: from only 9% of Women on Boards when reporting began to over 40% today. But there is still more to do to achieve full parity. The key areas to focus on are:
Cultural change throughout the organisation (inc. promoting a sense of belonging)
“What a Chair does and says is very important”
Less gendered workplaces (hold a space for men too)
Normalising conversations around men’s parenting role
More modern styles of leadership
“Women should be everywhere” when considering the Big 4 roles (Chair/SID/CEO/CFO)
Broader roll-out of equal parental leave
Family friendly policies
Affordable childcare
Equal parental leave: “the gold standard”
Flexible working
“We need dads to 'parent out loud' and be proud and transparent about their caring responsibilities at work. Equal Parental Leave, allows time for new dads to bond, learn how to parent independently and is a key enabler of gender equality for all.”
Elliot Rae (Founder of MusicFootballFatherhood)
The success of the WiHTL & DiR Collaboration Community
It is fantastic to see so many of our Member organisations being involved in the success of this year’s Review figures, including several at Top 10 Best Performer level: John Lewis achieved first position for both Women in Leadership and Women on Boards in the private companies category, and Matalan came in 4th place; Watches of Switzerland came joint 10th in the Executive Committee/Direct Reports category; WH Smith came 5th in the FTSE 250 Women on Boards table, and we were delighted to see so many of our Member organisations present in the top end of the rankings: Sainsbury’s, IHG, Whitbread, Kingfisher, Tesco, Compass and Flutter in the FTSE 100 and Pets at Home, Watches of Switzerland, WH Smith, Dr. Martens, Dunelm, C&C, SSP, Carnival, Domino’s and Currys in the FTSE 250.
When we look at the gains made by Member organisations by sector (in Women on Boards and/or combined Executive Committee and Direct Reports), there is also positive progress to note. In retail, Pets at Home, Matalan, WH Smith, Dunelm and Kingfisher have all improved year-on-year. In Consumer Products & Services, both Watches of Switzerland and Compass have advanced their figures from 2022, and in Travel & Leisure, IHG, Whitbread, SSP, Carnival, Domino’s, Flutter, easyJet, Merlin Entertainments and TUI are all making positive steps in increasing women representation in senior roles.
However, the numbers represent only part of the story. We know that these organisations work tirelessly in their efforts to improve women representation in a multitude of ways. We witness their commitment through working with them as part of the Collaboration Community: via our leadership development programmes; through their sponsorship of our initiatives; from insight and guidance from senior leaders who sit on our Advisory Board, and finally from the feedback and stories we hear from women who are succeeding in their careers thanks to this dedication.
To read the report in full: https://ftsewomenleaders.com/
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