Female representation on boards of FTSE 100 companies close to 40 pct: report

LONDON, Feb. 22 (Xinhua) -- The number of women represented on the boards of FTSE (Financial Times Stock Exchange) 100-level companies is approaching 40 percent, a report published by the United Kingdom's (UK) Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) revealed on Tuesday.

The number, the highest ever level in the country, compares with just 12.5 percent recorded ten years ago.

It means the UK is now second in international rankings for women's representation on company boards, trailing France, which has 43.8 percent of women in businesses listed on the benchmark French stock market index CAC. Norway's OBX (Oslo Stock Exchange) is third at 38.2 percent.

"Today's findings demonstrate a major sea-change in attitudes to getting women leaders to the top table of business in the UK, with women's board representation increasing in 2021 across the FTSE 100 (39.1 percent), FTSE 250 (36.8 percent) and FTSE 350 (37.6 percent)," the BEIS said.

The number of women in chair roles across the FTSE 350 rose to 48 from 39 in 2020, the report said.

Kwasi Kwarteng, the UK government's secretary of state for business, energy and industrial strategy, said: "UK businesses have made enormous progress in recent years to ensure that everyone, whatever their background, can succeed on merit. Today's findings highlight this with more women at the top table of Britain's biggest companies than ever before."

But the review also highlights areas where there is still more to do. It cites only one in three leadership roles held by women, with only around 25 percent of all executive committee roles held by women, and very few women in chief executive officer (CEO) roles.