Cranfield School of Management has published a progress report on the recommendations made by Lord Davies in his February review into women on company boards (see weekly LELR 207).
It shows that, since then, 21 women have been appointed to board positions out of a possible 93. This represents 22.5 per cent of all new appointments, some way short of the 33 per cent recommended in the Davies report.
The number of women now holding FTSE 100 board directorships is 155 out of a total of 1,092 positions (14.2 per cent). This is up from the 12.5 per cent published in the 2010 Female FTSE report from Cranfield in December 2010 last year.
The FTSE 250 has seen 28 (18 per cent) out of a possible 158 new board appointments go to women. One hundred and thirty three FTSE 250 boards now have female-held directorships. For the first time, a minority of FTSE 250 companies have all-male boards.
There has been no change in the typical turnover of directors on either the FTSE 100 or FTSE 250 boards during this period, indicating that boards are not creating new seats for women, but are simply adjusting how they go about making appointments.
In addition to analysing the number of companies that have set gender targets, Cranfield also conducted a qualitative assessment of the stance companies have adopted towards the Davies review.
Sixty-one FTSE 100 companies made statements that acknowledged issues surrounding gender diversity on corporate boards.
Fifty six percent of FTSE 100 companies reported having a policy on boardroom diversity; the comparative figure for FTSE 250 companies was 35 per cent.
However these policies are not generally supported by measurable targets or clear reporting, although a number of companies made clear their intention to do so in the future.
To download the progress report, go to the Department for Business Innovation & Skills website.