Gender diversity - Hampton-Alexander Review

The Hampton-Alexander Review aims to improve the representation of women in leadership positions of FTSE 350 companies and has set a target of having 33% of all board and senior leaderships positions to be held by women by the end of 2020.

In November 2019, the Review published its 2019 FTSE Women Leaders Report on improving gender balance in FTSE leadership.

The key findings in the report are:

• Board representation – 32.4% of board positions in FTSE 100 companies are held by women (up from 30.2% in 2018) and 29.6% in FTSE 250 companies (as compared with 24.9% in 2018). The report says that half of all FTSE 100 boards have already met or exceeded the 33% target, with a further 20 companies well on their way to doing so.
• Executive Committees and Direct Reports – The number of women in executive committee roles and in roles directly reporting to the executive committee has increased: in the FTSE 100, the figure increased to 28.6% (from 27% in 2018) and in the FTSE 250 the figure has increased to 27.9% (from 24.9% in 2018). However the report says that the pace of change is too slow. If the 33% target is to be met by the end of 2020, half of all available appointments will need to go to women in 2020.
• CEOs and Chairs – There has been little movement in the number of women in CEO or Chair roles. The report says that a sharper focus is needed to understand what is happening in the appointment process for these top jobs.