The female FTSE board report 2021: inclusion works for everyone

Abstract

This year we see further progress in terms of the number of women on corporate boards. The percentage of women in FTSE 100 boards is 38% and the parallel figure for FTSE 250 boards is 35%, so all boards in aggregate have met and indeed exceeded the target set by Hampton-Alexander.

In total, women hold 393 directorships across FTSE 100 boards. The percentage of female Non-Executive Directors (NEDs) stands at 44.4%, an all time high, in comparison to the percentage of female Executive Directors (EDs) which has flatlined for a second year, running at 13.7%. A similar picture is evident across FTSE 250 boards where women hold 688 directorships and 41.2% of the NED roles, but only 11.3% of the ED roles. There continues to be considerable variance across the boards, indicating that 21% of the FTSE 100 boards and 32% of FTSE 250 boards have yet to reach the Hampton-Alexander target of 33% women on their boards. This highlights the drawback to voluntary targets and prompts whether it is time to make these targets mandatory.