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Women Directors Now Make Up 19% of UK Boards

The number of women directors who now sit on the boards of the United Kingdom’s largest companies, the FTSE-100, has risen from 12.5 percent to 19 percent since 2011, according to a recent report by the UK Department for Business, Innovation and Skills.Former British Trade Minister Lord Davies founded Women on Boards in 2011 to track progress towards the UK’s goal of having 25 percent of board positions being held by women by 2015. According to the recent numbers, FTSE-100 companies must appoint 66 more female directors in the next two years to meet the target.The report also shows that the number of all-male boards on the FTSE-100 index has fallen to 6 companies, down from 21 companies in 2010.

By Mike Hower | Published 11 years ago | About a 1 minute read

Former British Trade Minister Lord Davies founded Women on Boards in 2011 to track progress towards the UK’s goal of having 25 percent of board positions being held by women by 2015. According to the recent numbers, FTSE-100 companies must appoint 66 more female directors in the next two years to meet the target.

The report also shows that the number of all-male boards on the FTSE-100 index has fallen to 6 companies, down from 21 companies in 2010.

In the FTSE-250, while the proportion of female board members has risen from 7.8 percent in 2010 to 14.9 percent, the number of female executive directors fell to 5.4 percent from 5.7 percent, as of May 2013.

"...Appointing more women as non executive directors is not an end in itself. This is about more talented women getting executive experience, so that they will not only advise, but run this country's great companies," Business Secretary, Vince Cable of the British government said in a statement.

Last week, Kellie McElhaney shared her eloquent insights on the need for more women in leadership.

Marriott recently joined more than a dozen corporations and non-governmental organizations in a five-year commitment to expand its engagement with female-owned businesses outside the United States, especially in emerging economies. Working with WEConnect International and Vital Voices, two prominent NGOs that support and promote the economic potential of women, Marriott will be part of the pledge to train 15,000 female business owners and spend $1.5 billion with their companies by 2018.

Mike Hower

Founder & Principal Consultant, Hower Impact

Mike Hower is the founder of Hower Impact — a boutique consultancy delivering best-in-class strategic communication advisory and support for corporate sustainability, ESG and climate tech.

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