The Institute of Directors has welcomed the latest Women on Boards report from Lord Davies which showed 26.1% of boardroom positions on the FTSE 100 are held by women.
Lady Barbara Judge CBE, chairman of the Institute of Directors, said:
“It is excellent to see British business has powered through the 25% target set by Lord Davies in 2011. The government has the full support of the business community, which wholeheartedly shares the drive to increase the number of women at the top of corporate Britain and is acutely aware of the importance of having diverse boardrooms. The success in increasing the number of women in boards has laid the groundwork for the next challenges – ethnicity, age and social background.
“We expect companies to embrace the new 33% target Lord Davies has set with the same enthusiasm. This is a new challenge which once again shows the importance of focusing on the executive level. Less than one in ten executive directorships in the FTSE 100 are held by women, so we must not lose focus on getting women into executive and decision-making roles, as well as non-executive ones.
“To keep up the pace of progress, headhunters and recruiters have a big responsibility to make sure they are looking at candidates from as wide a pool as possible. Employers must make sure they are supporting women throughout their careers, particularly around issues like childcare. Women that make it to the top must also help others follow in their footsteps, by acting as role models and mentors.”
The Institute of Directors 2015 Women in Business Conference, with Lady Barbara Judge CBE, Vivian Hunt, managing partner UK & Ireland, McKinsey & Company and Juliet Morris, journalist and broadcaster, will take place on 13 November 2015. For details, see here, or to find out about attending, get in touch.