Firms urged to increase female board representation
UK listed companies in the FTSE 100 should be striving to fill
at least 25 per cent of their boards with women by 2015, according
to Lord Davies of Abersoch.
Lord Davies, The Minister for Trade, Investment and Small
Business, made the announcement at the launch of his independent
review into women as board members.
Vince Cable, Business Secretary, and Teresa May, Minister for
Women, asked Lord Davies to carry out the review into the factors
preventing firms from increasing the number of women on their
boards.
Alongside calling for FTSE 100 firms to aim for change, Lord
Davies also said that FTSE 350 companies should be striving to
increase the number of female board members. The report also called
for firms to 'fully disclose' the number of women in the
organisations as a whole.
Lord Davies said, "Currently 18 FTSE 100 companies have no
female directors at all and nearly half of all FTSE 250 companies
do not have a woman in the boardroom. Radical change is needed in
the mindset of the business community if we are to implement the
scale of change that is needed.
"This is not about aiming for a specific figure and is not just
about promoting equal opportunities but it is about improving
business performance," he added.