Women comprise 40% of boards at top UK companies for first time in a decade

London: The ratio of women in some of the corporate boards of Britain’s 350 largest listed companies has breached the 40 per cent mark for the first time last fiscal in 2022, a UK government-backed report has showed on Tuesday. Leadership roles for women in UK have increased by almost 3 per cent to hit the target nearly three years ahead of plan. For several policymakers and investors, improving boardroom diversity has become a focus area for better workplace dynamics. According to them, a broader range of experience improves decision-making and corporate culture. “This progress is very welcome, and I’d urge corporates to keep up this momentum to achieve better balance in leadership positions as well as in boardrooms,” Kemi Badenoch, business and trade secretary and women’s equality minister, said. In February 2022, the business-led FTSE Women Leaders Review set FTSE350 companies a 40% target for women on boards and in leadership teams by 2025, up from a previous target of 33%. This new goal was given official backing by the Financial Conduct Authority, which regulates listed companies, in April 2022, with the watchdog also including broader diversity targets. In 2022, the proportion of women on FTSE 350 boards increased by almost 3% to reach 40.2% as of January 11, 2023, while in the top 100 companies, the FTSE 100, women held 40.5% of board positions, up from 39.1% in 2021, the report said. Compared to countries such as Belgium and France, Britain does not have a mandatory quota system for women on boards at listed companies, making the progress more remarkable, the report pointed out. Just over a decade ago, 152 of the FTSE 350 Boards had no women on them. Now there are women on every board and the vast majority of companies have three or more, it added. But, the portion of women in leadership roles - defined as the executive committee and its direct reports - still falls short of the target, with the FTSE 100 at 34.3% and FTSE350 at 33.5%. Read all the Latest News , Trending News , Cricket News , Bollywood News , India News and Entertainment News here. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.