Women leading the way?

On 25 February 2025, the Government and the FTSE Women Leaders published their 2024 Review exploring the progress towards gender balance on the boards and within the leadership teams of FTSE 350 companies and the 50 Largest Private Companies (“LPCs”) in the UK.

This is part of a 15-year review cycle which started in 2011 with The Davies Review (a target of 25% women on boards) and moved on to The Hampton Alexander Review in 2016 which had a target of 33% women on boards. The final five-year period began in 2021 with the FTSE Women Leaders Review and this sets a target of 40% of board and leadership positions in the FTSE 350 and the 50 LPCs to be held by women by the end of 2025.

Now in its penultimate year, one of the targets has been met however there is a continued drive towards progress in other areas, as summarised below.

When leadership reflects the society it serves, businesses are better equipped to understand their customers, drive innovation and deliver long-term sustainable growth.” Sir Robin Budenberg CBE, Chair, Lloyds Banking Group

Women on Boards

The FTSE 350 have achieved one of the targets ahead of time with 43.4% of board positions held by women and no all men boards. Remarkably, 70% of Diageo plc’s board are women, with Severn Trent plc and Auto Trader Group plc closely behind with 66.7%.

By comparison only 30.5% of the board positions in the 50 LPCs are held by women. Whilst this is encouraging, it is in fact a decrease in the figure from 2022. Further, the number of companies achieving the 40% target has decreased since last year and the number of all male boards has increased to seven.

Women in Leadership

The 40% target also applies to women in leadership. This now sits at 35.3% amongst FTSE 350 companies, with 10 all men executive committees (an increase of one since last year). The Review notes that “the pipeline of talent is available and it is time to move on [from this situation]”.

In this category, the 50 LPCs are outperforming the FTSE 350 with 36.8% of leadership positions being held by women and only one all men executive committee. John Lewis Partnership plc leads this group of businesses with 56.4% of leadership roles held by women.

Women in Four Key Roles

The Review also analyses the proportion of women holding the “Four Key Roles” within a company, being the positions of Chair, Senior Independent Director, CEO and Finance Director. In this context, the recommendation is that women hold at least one of these Four Key Roles.

77% of FTSE 350 companies and 60% of the 50 LPCs now meet this recommendation. One company, the Co-operative Group Ltd, even has a woman in each of the Four Key Roles.

Looking more closely at the data, the proportion of women holding these Roles has remained static or progressed positively in the last year, except in the case of CEOs where the number of women holding that position has decreased.

An international comparison

The Review also compares the representation of women on boards in the FTSE 350 with companies overseas. The chart on page 34 summarises the position and within the G7, the FTSE 350 currently sits in second place behind France.

Over the years, we have seen what works; a clear strategy, leadership accountability, and an unwavering commitment to reviewing processes to eliminate any potential bias.” Sir Robin Budenberg CBE, Chair, Lloyds Banking Group

Whilst we have tried to summarise the key findings, please do refer to the Review for further detail, including a number of charts and diagrams which draw out the research and provide additional information. 

If you would like to discuss any of points raised in the Review or in this article, please speak to your Burges Salmon contact, Nick Graves (Head of the Corporate Department), AJ Venter or Charlotte Hamilton.