The number of women who are holding the position of director on the board of companies featured in the FTSE 100 is on the increase, according to the latest statistics.
Figures released by the Professional Boards Forum (PBF) show that females now account for at least a quarter of the boards of 31 firms, while 13 businesses’ boards consist of 30 per cent or more women.
By 2015, the government wants all companies to have at least 25 per cent of directors in the FTSE 100 to be female.
According to the PBF’s BoardWatch report, 66 women need to be appointed in that position by the deadline in order to reach that target.
BoardWatch also says that since March 1st, a quarter of all director appointments have been women.
There are also now only six all-male boards among the countries top 100 companies – down from the 21 that existed back in February 2011.
Business secretary Vince Cable has described the report’s results as “promising”, adding that he is confident UK businesses can “get over the finish line” when it comes to hitting the target.
Lord Davies, who published the original report into establishing more female directors, said: “Businesses are making real efforts to find and appoint capable women to their boards and I will continue to champion their efforts.”
The news follows a study revealed last month by O2 called Women in the Workplace – which looked at how females could be encouraged in progressing their careers.
It found that of 2,000 women questioned, 47 per cent thought that getting ahead in work was impossible if they also wanted to maintain a successful family life.
The findings pointed towards urging businesses to encourage more flexible working practices so that employees can have the best of both worlds, alongside mentoring and training sessions for female members of staff.
