The Hampton-Alexander 2019 Review has been published and shows progress over the last year in achieving the 33% target for women on boards and in leadership teams of FTSE 350 companies by 2020.
Review reports are published annually (the first report was in 2016) and this year’s review shows that women on FTSE 100 and FTSE 250 boards are near the targets set ahead of 2020 deadline. However, not all companies are making the same efforts, and the gap is becoming more obvious between those who do and those who do not.
“One & Done” boards (ie. Just having one female on the board to meet requirements) have reduced from 74 to 39 this year, but these companies are a long way off target and showing a seemingly tokenistic approach to gender balance. Only two ‘All-Male’ boards remain, down from 5 the previous year.
The Review Report highlights that although great progress is being made, it is time to aim higher. The pace of change needs to extend beyond the board and include diversity at all levels. The research is clear: firms with diverse boards and management teams make better decisions, drive innovation and outperform their less diverse peers. In particular, strengthening number of women in executive positions is critical to achieving long-term gender balance, that is still a long way from target.
To read a copy of the Report click on the Download link