FTSE Women Leaders Review

In the FTSE 350 women hold 42% of non-executive director (NED) roles but only 15% of executive positions on the board. An interesting article in the Financial Times explores how non-exec roles offer a launch pad to boardroom gender parity. NED roles offer women opportunities to sharpen their leadership skills, but there’s still a significant gap in executive positions where key decisions are made. As Penny James notes, Chief executives have the most influence as they make the day-to-day decisions, and run the culture and people. A major challenge in achieving gender parity in executive positions is that many CEOs are traditionally drawn from roles like CFO or those with profit and loss responsibilities. While NED roles are invaluable in building experience, the lack of women in executive roles shows the need for a stronger pipeline of female leaders. Vivienne Artz OBE FCSI (Hon) CMgr CCMI AIGP Artz emphasizes, "We still need this executive pipeline... those executive director roles are the impactful ones." Read the full article here 👉 https://lnkd.in/eYDkaAQm #FTSEWomenLeaders #WomenonBoards #GenderParity

Great to see our Co-Chair, Nimesh Patel, flying the flag for inclusion in the workplace and the importance of achieving gender balance in business. Whilst we have made huge progress there remains much to do. As Nimesh says, we need leaders to act as visible advocates and role-models committed to delivering meaningful, lasting change. #FTSEWomenLeaders #GenderBalance #Inclusion

Yesterday at the Balance the Board Accelerating Change conference, our CEO, Vivienne Artz OBE FCSI (Hon) CMgr CCMI AIGP, shared insights into the phenomenal progress made toward improving gender diversity on boards and leadership teams across the UK’s largest companies. She highlighted the pivotal role British businesses are playing in driving this agenda forward. However, there's still much more to be done. While women now hold 48% of non-executive roles on FTSE 350 boards, only 15% of key executive positions are filled by women. That is a stark differential. If we ever needed evidence that there is more work to do these numbers speak for themselves and serve to reinforce the importance of transparency and accountability in embedding gender equality and delivering sustainable change. #BtB2024 #FTSEWomenLeaders

The FTSE Women Leaders Review was delighted to participate in a discussion with business leaders this morning convened by Business in the Community following the Lifting up the UK: State of the Nation 2024 report, which detailed the thoughts of the leaders of some of the UK’s largest businesses on what has been done and what is still needed to change the world around us. It was great to share the tremendous progress businesses have made in increasing women’s representation at the Board and Leadership levels, as outlined in the latest FTSE Women Leaders report. The remarkable growth from 9.5% to over 40% of women on FTSE 350 Boards, achieved through voluntary targets, transparency, and best practices, serves as an inspiration for extending this progress to Leadership roles and beyond the FTSE 350. Read the full Lifting up the UK report here 👉 https://lnkd.in/eZWrJiFW #FTSEWomenLeaders #LiftinguptheUK

A huge thank you to all the firms for attending the FTSE Women Leaders Review workshop and dinner and for their continued commitment to supporting the targets of the Review, recognising the important role they play in enabling business to make progress towards gender balanced businesses. #FTSEWomenLeaders #WomenonBoards Audeliss Egon Zehnder Fidelio Partners Heidrick & Struggles Korn Ferry Lygon Group MWM Consulting Odgers Berndtson Russell Reynolds Associates Sapphire Partners Executive Search Teneo Warren Partners | Certified B Corp Vivienne Artz OBE FCSI (Hon) CMgr CCMI AIGP Penny James Fiona Cannon OBE Chris Grigg Monique Carter Rachel Hopcroft CBE

Delighted to join FTSE Women Leaders Review and the Steering Group yesterday for both a stock take and a look ahead for gender balance in UK companies. ✔ As part of the eco-system supporting and driving greater gender diversity, Fidelio Partners was pleased to see the energy and commitment to progress. The Enhanced Code of Conduct for Search firms is playing an important role. ✔ Ongoing momentum is critical for sustained success. During the evening there was real focus on the benefits of diversity and the competitive advantage of cognitive diversity. ✔ Accessing different pools of talent, removing internal obstacles to development and setting the tone from the top are all key contributions to building highly effective Boards in the UK. Fidelio Partners are pleased to be playing our part. #Search #BoardReview Vivienne Artz OBE FCSI (Hon) CMgr CCMI AIGP Penny James Rachel Hopcroft CBE Fiona Cannon OBE Monique Carter Melanie Richards CBE Pev Hooper Chris Grigg Nimesh Patel Laura Needham Holly Quincey Mark Cumberlege FidAR Frauen in die Aufsichtsräte e.V. Patricia Godfrey Eman Martin-Vignerte Milly Norman #diversity #inclusion 30% Club UK #FTSEWomenLeaders #GenderBalance https://lnkd.in/exMw6uNh

Earlier this week, Vivienne Artz OBE FCSI (Hon) CMgr CCMI AIGP had the pleasure of joining a terrific panel moderated by Heeral Shah, Young President’s Organisation, Greater London Chapter, D&I Officer and Women’s Business Network Champion and including Roselyn Cason-Marcus, Global Director, Senior Talent Attraction at McKinsey and Affinity/First Movers Fellow, Business and Society Program at The Aspen Institute, and Claire Parker, Global Head of Diversity Equity & Inclusion at Jaguar Land Rover.  It was a wide ranging and practical discussion and opportunity to explore the Dial Global Review 2024 insights. The findings included that Gender Diversity remains the most prioritised facet across regions and industries, and although there is strong support for gender networks, more work is needed to increase board-level representation and the importance of data reporting to accelerate progress. It was great to have the opportunity to share the work of the FTSE Women Leaders Review in setting targets, measuring progress and sharing insights on women on Boards and the Leadership level at the FTSE 350 and 50 largest private companies in the UK, and to see so many reporting companies contributing to the rich discussion. #FTSEWomenLeaders #DIALGlobal #genderinclusion

The FTSE Women Leaders Review Portal is now OPEN for administration and browsing purposes for #FTSE350 companies and 50 of the UK's largest #privatecompanies. If your company is preparing to submit data, remember to: 👉Login to the portal 👉Browse your company’s data submissions from previous years 👉Familiarise yourself with the 2024 data submission form 👉Take a look at our Getting Started Guide and FAQ pages to support you through the process Visit our website for more details: www.ftsewomenleaders.com #FTSEWomenLeaders #GenderBalance Vivienne Artz OBE FCSI (Hon) CMgr CCMI AIGP Penny James Nimesh Patel Laura Needham Rachel Hopcroft CBE Fiona Cannon OBE Melanie Richards CBE Monique Carter Chris Grigg Pev Hooper

Great to see the Transparency Index 2024 from Connected Impact and data science experts, Ringer Sciences, citing the FTSE Women Leaders Review Report as a key measure in their analysis of ESG (Environmental Social and Governance) disclosures of the FTSE 100 and the top 100 U.S. companies. The Index reviewed over 600,000 company communications over 12 months, delivering the first-ever assessment of transparency gaps between company disclosures and their public communications. In evaluating Social Transparency, it highlights the significant role the FTSE Women Leaders Review has played in advancing women's representation in British business—revolutionising gender balance on Boards and Leadership Teams. It's fascinating to see some of the key UK companies leading the way in gender equality also demonstrating strong alignment between their ESG disclosures and what they communicate publicly. Year-on-year scrutiny of leadership data has been pivotal in transforming gender balance within the UK’s largest businesses, underscoring the power of transparency in fostering lasting, meaningful change. Read the full Transparency Index here 👉 https://lnkd.in/eNNs43Tu #FTSEWomenLeaders #TransparencyIndex #ESG Vivienne Artz OBE FCSI (Hon) CMgr CCMI AIGP Penny James Nimesh Patel Fiona Cannon OBE Laura Needham Monique Carter

We are delighted to have the support of Monique Carter on the Steering Group of the FTSE Women Leaders Review which plays a critical role in delivering gender balance on the Boards and Leadership Teams of the UK’s biggest companies. As Monique observes, the visible commitment of business leaders across industry is key to influencing and driving sustainable change. Whilst representation of women on FTSE 350 Boards is now at 42%, women in leadership roles is lower at 34%, highlighting the ongoing need for progress toward gender parity at the highest levels of British business. #FTSEWomenLeaders #GenderParity