The UK is lagging behind its European counterparts in terms of female representation in the boardroom, despite significant progress in recent years, finds an international study by Deloitte.
The study, which has more than 10,000 publicly listed companies, including 509 from the UK, found that 30% of board seats in the UK were held by women. While this was 7.4% higher than in 2019, the first year the report was compiled, with the UK ranking 9th in the world for boardroom diversity, the UK still sits below six other European countries.
France ranked the highest for gender diversity on boards, and was just 6.8% away from parity of representation.
The report was created in collaboration with campaign group The 30% Club and analysed data from 10,493 companies in 51 countries.
Ann Cairns, global chair of The 30% Club, said company chairs and CEOs should be encouraged to give women their first board seat. “There is plenty of talent out there who would make great directors. This is very true for people of colour, too many of whom would welcome the chance to make a significant contribution at the top of the corporate world but remain significantly under-represented.”
Globally, Deloitte’s report indicates slow progress towards gender parity, with just one in five (19.7%) boardroom seats held by women, up just 2.8% compared to 2019.