The 2009 FTSE Female Report: Discouraging picture for women

The 2009 Female FTSE report from Cranfield School of Management has found that the number of female board members of FTSE 100 companies has remained at 12%, the same level as in 2008. There has been a drop in the number of women holding key positions in FTSE 100 companies. Last year saw the highest number with five female CEOs and three regional CEOs. Today there are only four female CEOs in the FTSE 100, sitting on the boards of Alliance Trust, Burberry, Pearson and Anglo American. There has also been a decline in the overall number of companies with women on their boards, with one in four companies now having exclusively male boards. The number of companies with executive directors is down to 15 (from 16). In addition there has been a drop in the number of boards with multiple women directors to 37 (from 39). According to the report, there are, incredibly, only 113 women holding 131 FTSE 100 directorships, compared to 834 men holding 947 directorships. 

Of the 156 new appointees to the FTSE 100 in the past year, only 23, just 14.7%, were women. Of the 23 new female appointees, 14 had not previously held FTSE 100 directorships, which is a small increase on last year’s new intake to the pool of female FTSE directors.  Interestingly of the 14 women new to the FTSE boards, only one is a British national, suggesting that nationality may be a vital element of their human capital for board appointments.

On a positive note, there has been a considerable increase in the number of women at executive committee level. 77 of the FTSE 100 companies (up from 71 last year) have a total of 175 (substantially up from 139) women in their top executive teams. 

Dr Ruth Sealy, Deputy Director of the International Centre for Women Leaders at Cranfield School of Management, and co author of the report, has identified a substantial, growing and very talented pool of females available, which puts paid to the lack of supply argument that's often put forward by exclusively male boards.  According to Dr Sealy, the current situation is not the result of a lack of supply, but rather a lack of demand.

Minister for Equality and Women, Harriet Harman said: “Businesses that run on the basis of an old boy network and do not draw on the talents of all the population will not be the ones that flourish and prosper in the 21st century.” At a time when there has been substantial focus on the financial services sector, the banks have delivered the biggest disappointment. Within the five banks among the FTSE 100 companies, just 9% (down from 12%) of board members are female. “It would appear that instead of becoming a time for positive change, the economic climate of the last year has left the top companies more male dominated.  As recent research increasingly suggests it is only when a critical mass of women in the boardroom is attained – with three or more female board members – that real culture change can occur”, said report co-author Dr Ruth Sealy.

As in previous years, there are some significant differences between companies with and those without female directors. Market capitalisation is again significantly higher in companies with women on the board, although firms with female directors do not have significantly larger workforces. Board size is also higher averaging 11.1 directors for companies with female directors compared to 9.5 directors for all-male boards. 

Another addition to this year’s report is a list of 100 ‘Women to Watch’.  There are now 2,281 women (up from 1,877 last year) on the corporate boards and executive committees/senior teams of all the FTSE listings.  The report authors have identified 100 women who are currently on the executive committees of the FTSE 100 or 250 companies that should be seriously considered for boardroom appointments.  These women were selected from the largest organisations, but there are an additional 2,181 women in the huge and growing pipeline of female talent available to the FTSE 100 boards.

The report is sponsored by PricewaterhouseCoopers, Sainsbury, Aviva and HSBC and Pearson. For a copy of the full report please click here.

Here at Smart Opportunities for Women we are confident that the UK has an extensive pool of talented women who are keen to get connected to forward-thinking employers. In 2010, we will be hosting a series of events focused on supporting employers to effectively recruit, develop and retain female talent. So, if you are keen to sponsor any of our events, we would like to hear from you. Contact us today.