Two years on from his initial report, “Women on Boards”, Lord Davies has published a second annual progress report, which highlights good progress overall. Women now account for 17.3% of FTSE 100 and 13.2% of FTSE board directors, an increase of nearly 40% in two years.
The report also makes the following recommendations:
- That all chairmen of FTSE 350 companies review their targets for 2015 and that those companies which have not yet set targets should do so.
- That FTSE 250 companies also set targets for the number of women they aim to have on their boards in 2015, with a minimum of 25% to be aimed for.
- That FTSE 350 chief executives set out the percentage of women they aim to have on their executive committees and in senior management within their organisation in 2015. This should be set out by the end of September 2013.
- That executive committee members be released to serve on the boards of other companies as part of the overall executive development plan.
- That a group of companies conduct a pilot for advertising director opportunities to test the benefits and pitfalls of advertising.
The report, entitled “Women on Boards April 2013”, can be viewed here.