It’s been nearly three decades since the FTSE 100 saw its first female chief executive: Dame Marjorie Scardino, who took the helm at the publishing house Pearson in 1997.

Fast-forward to today, however, and the numbers are not much prettier. Just 10 of the 97 chief executive roles available in the largest companies in the country are held by women, according to the FTSE Women Leaders review, and women have less than a third of board seats.

If you look a little wider at the FTSE 350 (the 350 largest companies in the country), 21 have a female chief executive and just four have both a female chair and a female CEO. The report said the number of female CEOs was the “standout disappointing statistic” among a sea of progress, and the “last hill to conquer in a journey that was taking longer than it should”.

The numbers

Overall, the numbers are moving in the right direction — if a little slowly. Some 35.2% of leadership positions in FTSE 100 companies are now held by women, up from 34.3% last year and 30% back in 2020. Women account for 30% of board seats, up from 26.5% in 2020.

If the goal is to get more women in the top job, then it’s worth looking at the number of women in the finance director and chief information officer (CIO) roles, which are well-trodden routes to taking control of a company’s reins. Around a quarter of these roles are currently held by women — 25% of finance directors in the FTSE 100 are women and 27% of CIOs. This doesn’t sound great, but it’s up from 16 and 20% respectively two years ago.

One problem is the overall appointment rate, however, which is still skewed in favour of men. In FTSE 100 companies, it’s 40%, and in the FTSE 350, it’s 36% — which means that on average, more men are being hired to these companies than women.

Denise Wilson, chief executive of the FTSE Women Leaders Review, joined AllBright as our latest Dinner with a CEO guest, during the discussion she shared invaluable insights into her career journey and offered a unique perspective on tackling gender imbalance from a governmental standpoint. Denise assured there had been “near-revolutionary change” in little more than a decade. But she added: “While many of the complex barriers to women’s progression in the workplace have been removed, some harder ones remain, and without a doubt there is more to do.”

And the push for more women in leadership positions isn’t just because many consider it the “right thing to do”.

Research shows that companies with female CEOs are more profitable than others — data from Frank Recruitment Group shows that 87% of companies with female bosses reported above average profits compared to 78% without a female at the helm — and that firms with women in senior positions are also more socially responsible and provide safer customer experiences. So increasing the number of women in C-suite and upper management roles isn’t just good for society, it’s good for business, too.

Companies: budding or blacklisted?

The FTSE 100 companies with female CEOs are: GSK, Taylor Wimpey, Aviva, Diageo, Severn Trent, United Utilities, Entain, Vodafone, Admiral Group and BT. However, if you’re a budding businesswoman looking for a female-friendly company, it’s worth looking beyond those with a woman in the top job today and digging deeper into the numbers of their overall hiring practices.

Burberry Group holds the top spot for gender diversity in leadership positions, with 55% of their leadership roles held by women. Marks and Spencer, at 51%, came second and Next was in third.

At the other end of the spectrum, mining companies are failing to make strides towards gender diversity. At Fresnillo, just 12% of leadership positions are held by women. Endeavour Mining and Antofagasta are not far behind, with 18 and 19% of positions held by women respectively.

Interestingly, Entain, the travel and leisure company, is one of the few companies with a female chief executive, but less than a quarter of its leadership positions are held by women.

The strongest sectors

Zoom out further, and you can see which sectors are currently the best at promoting or hiring women to leadership positions.

Utility companies, such as water suppliers or electricity providers, come out on top, with women holding 41.5% of leadership positions and 42.2% of board seats. This is likely due to external regulation and government scrutiny — proving that while quotas and diversity pushes often seem like tick-box exercises, they have encouraged companies in the spotlight to improve their gender balance.

Women also tend to do well in media and retail. These are traditionally more female-dominated sectors anyway, so it makes sense that industries with larger female workforces will see more women promoted to leadership and top positions.

In retail, for example, there is a strong tradition of workers starting in customer-facing roles on the shop floor and moving into corporate positions. The fact this has played out in better gender diversity numbers at the top level shows that when there is gender balance throughout a company, it is more likely to produce female leaders.

Perhaps somewhat surprisingly, banking and insurance companies also do well, with 40 per cent of leadership positions held by women. Much of this may come from pressure from regulators, the government and shareholders, but could also be down to the fact that they are sectors which often provide competitive benefit packages and flexible working arrangements.

Flexible working is generally more important for women because on average, they take on more caring responsibilities. A study from the thinktank Centre for Progressive Policy found that every year, women provide 23.2 billion hours of unpaid childcare compared to just 9.7 billion provided by men.

Later in life, they also spend more time caring for older relatives. According to the Office for National Statistics, around one in four older female workers have caring responsibilities towards the end of their careers compared to one in eight older male workers.

Then, there are the sectors that lag way behind the average. In the construction and materials sector, less than 30% of leadership positions are held by women.

The same is true of industrial goods and services companies and basic resources companies, such as mining firms. At the very bottom is automobiles and parts — just 24% of leadership positions in these companies are held by women.

So while there has been — slow — progress at the top of British businesses, there is certainly further room for improvement, particularly in industries traditionally considered “masculine”.

The FTSE Women Leaders review has recommended a target of a minimum of 40% women on boards and in leadership teams by the end of 2025, and that companies should have at least one woman in a top job (chair, CEO or finance director) by the same date.

High hopes, even for the top-performing sectors which are only just managing these figures today, and perhaps a pipe-dream for those industries that seem a world away today without more targeted support and action.

While the road towards a more equal FTSE 500 seems long, don’t be discouraged. Every year we see growth and awareness rise and more women join the likes of Karen Lynch, Emma Walmsley and Jennie Daly. Here at AllBright, we know there is a long way to go but we believe the first step is for companies to invest in their employees to make change.

Check out AllBright’s Alliance programme which works to unite the world’s leading organisations to co-create the future of the workplace, fuelling innovation and diverse leadership at every level.