Statement of Service
Number of FTSE 100 companies with women directors has fallen for the third year running
Many top UK companies are bucking the trend towards gender equality by reinforcing the glass ceiling and making the board room virtually female-free
Many top UK companies are bucking the trend towards gender equality by reinforcing the glass ceiling and making the board room virtually female-free, according to a report out today, which shows that the number of top 100 companies with UK women directors has fallen for the third year running.
The research was carried out by the Centre for Developing Women Business Leaders, Cranfield School of Management, who specialise in studying women in corporate leadership. A working group has been set up to progress the position of women on FTSE 100 boards, under the leadership of the Rt Hon Harriet Harman MP, in conjunction with a number of organisations including The Industrial Society and the Fawcett Society. The research which builds on what became known last year as the ‘FTSE Female Index’ shows that 57% of Britain’s leading businesses have women directors, compared to 58% last year and 64% in 1999. There are still 43 firms with no women on their board, and only 2% of executive directors are women.
Successful companies are more likely to have women on the board - 17 of the top 20 FTSE companies (85%) have women directors, but only 10 of the bottom 20 firms. Only one company has a female CEO, and overall the number of female executive directors has declined from 13 to 10.
Some companies are recognising the value of a more balanced boardroom. 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. Until November Legal and General had a record four female directors - the first time that any FTSE 100 company has had four women in the boardroom. However one female director has since left the board, leaving L&G with three women directors (23%) on their board.
The 2001 league table puts Marks and Spencer in top place with a 25% female board. Logica comes in second with two female non-executive directors out 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 them women.
The Rt Hon Harriet Harman MP commented: "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. She says: "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 says: "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, says: "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, says: "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?"
Key findings:
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.
Related Links
Industrial Society
www.indsoc.co.uk
November 30, 2001
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