According to the Hampton-Alexander Review, there has been “a concerning” lack of female representation in leadership positions and key executive roles among UK companies.
Small Business Prices have therefore explored publicly available data by the FTSE (Financial Times Stock Exchange) 100 and 250, which are all part of the FTSE 350. The data explores females in leadership, revealing which companies in the UK have the largest and smallest number of female members on the Board of Directors.
What is the Financial Times Stock Exchange Index?
The Financial Times Stock Exchange (FTSE), is frequently referred to as the “Footsie” and is now branded as FTSE Russell. It is a global index leader, providing innovative benchmarking, analytics, and data solutions for investors worldwide. FTSE Russell is wholly owned by the London Stock Exchange Group.
Burberry revealed as the FTSE company with the highest percentage of females on the board
By analysing data from the FTSE 100, we have created a leaderboard of the top 25 companies in the UK with the largest percentage of female members on the Board of Directors and found that Burberry had the highest.
| Rank | Company | Percentage of Women on Board |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Diageo PLC | 60 |
| 2 | Auto Trader Group | 55.6 |
| 3 | Burberry Group PLC | 54.5 |
| 3 | Admiral Group PLC | 54.5 |
| 4 | Rightmove PLC | 50 |
| 4 | Halma PLC | 50 |
| 4 | Severn Trent PLC | 50 |
| 5 | London Stock Exchange Group | 46.2 |
| 6 | ITV PLC | 45.5 |
| 6 | Melrose Industries PLC | 45.5 |
| 7 | Pearson PLC | 44.4 |
| 8 | WPP PLC | 42.9 |
| 8 | B&M European Value | 42.9 |
| 8 | JD Sports Fashion PLC | 42.9 |
| 9 | InterContinental Hotels Group PLC | 41.7 |
| 10 | Next PLC | 40 |
| 10 | BP PLC | 40 |
| 11 | AstraZeneca PLC | 38.5 |
| 11 | GlaxoSmithKline PLC | 38.5 |
| 12 | Dechra Pharmaceuticals PLC | 37.5 |
| 13 | The British Land Company PLC | 36.4 |
| 13 | Rio Tinto PLC | 36.4 |
| 13 | Legal & General Group PLC | 36.4 |
| 14 | J Sainsbury PLC | 33.3 |
| 14 | Phoenix Group Holdings | 33.3 |
| Average | 44 |
From analysing data from Glassdoor, on average, the top 25 companies that possess the greater number of women on their board of directors scored higher in ratings in all categories: overall rating, culture and values, diversity and inclusion, work-life balance, senior management, compensation and benefits and career opportunities.
The average score for culture and values for companies in the top 25 was 3.9 out of 5. Furthermore, the average score for diversity and inclusion rating for companies in the top 25 was 4.
From exploring the data regarding career opportunities, the average score for companies in the top 25 for numbers of female leaders was 3.6 out of 5. There were also more compensation and benefits, with companies in the top 25 in the FTSE 100 scoring 3.7.
Vivo Energy revealed as the FTSE company with the lowest percentage of females on the board
By analysing data from the FTSE 250, we have also created a leaderboard of the 25 companies in the UK with the smallest percentage of female members on the Board of Directors. We discovered that Vivo Energy PLC which ranked first in the below table had the lowest.
| Rank | Company | Percentage of Women on Board |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Vivo Energy PLC | 22.2 |
| 2 | CMC Markets PLC | 25 |
| 2 | Renishaw PLC | 25 |
| 2 | Carnival PLC | 25 |
| 2 | BALFOUR BEATTY PLC | 25 |
| 2 | Bodycote PLC | 25 |
| 3 | Homeserve PLC | 27.3 |
| 3 | Helios Towers PLC | 27.3 |
| 3 | Aston Martin Lagonda Global Holdings | 27.3 |
| 3 | Wizz Air Holdings | 27.3 |
| 4 | DiscoverIE Group PLC | 28.6 |
| 4 | Grafton Group PLC | 28.6 |
| 4 | Frasers Group PLC | 28.6 |
| 4 | Oxford Instruments PLC | 28.6 |
| 4 | Bytes Technology Group PLC | 28.6 |
| 4 | Ultra Electronics Holdings PLC | 28.6 |
| 4 | Hilton Food Group PLC | 28.6 |
| 4 | BBGI Global Infrastructure S.A. | 28.6 |
| 4 | Trainline | 28.6 |
| 5 | Clarkson PLC | 30 |
| 5 | TI Fluid System | 30 |
| 5 | Network International Holdings | 30 |
| 5 | Capita PLC | 30 |
| 5 | Weir Group Holdings | 30 |
| 6 | Airtel Africa PLC | 30.8 |
| Averages | 27.78 |
According to the FTSE report, on average, the 25 companies that have the least number of women on their board of directors scored lower than the top companies in ratings in most categories. For example, in overall rating, culture and values, diversity and inclusion, work-life balance, senior management, compensation and benefits and career opportunities.
Additionally, the average score for culture and values for companies in the bottom 25 was 3.5 out of 5. Additionally, the bottom companies scored an average of 3.6 in diversity and inclusion.
If we investigate the data from a career opportunity perspective, the average score for companies in the bottom 25 for numbers of female leaders was 3.3. Moreover, there were less compensation and benefits, with companies in the bottom 25 scoring an average of 3.4.
The Bottom 25 FTSE 250 Companies have a 23% Pay Gap
Despite both the top 25 and bottom 25 companies having a gender pay gap, on average the top 25 companies have a 12% pay gap, which increases to 23% for the bottom 25 of the entire company. This, therefore, demonstrates that the larger the number of women on board, the lower the gender pay gap.
It is important to note, however, that although the top 25 companies had a greater percentage in the number of women on their board of directors than the bottom 25, they also had a slightly smaller board size too.
Analysis Overview
Overall, our data illustrates that the companies with more women in leadership positions have higher satisfaction in every category. Such as culture and values, diversity and inclusion, work-life balance, senior management and compensation and benefits. For example, the average score for culture and values for companies in the top 25 was 3.9 compared to 3.5 out of 5 for those in the bottom 25.
Methodology
We looked at the top and bottom 25 companies of the FTSE 350, which consists of the FTSE 100 and FTSE 250 Women Leaders Report. We investigated key data to discover if companies with more women are more successful overall.
The data exploring average board size, total women on board and executive women on board were all retrieved from the FTSE 2022 Women Leaders Report.
Additionally, employees were asked to score culture and values, diversity and inclusion, work/life balance, senior management, compensation and benefits, career opportunities, number of job openings and finally, overall rating, which were all analysed from Glassdoor. We assigned each factor a number out of 5, the same way Glassdoor did.
Finally, we looked at gender pay gap data, and found these statistics from gov.uk’s gender pay gap service.
Sources
https://ftsewomenleaders.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/2021_FTSE-Women-Leaders-Review_Final-Report_WA.pdf (FTSE 2022 Report)
https://www.glassdoor.co.uk/ (Company Ratings)
https://gender-pay-gap.service.gov.uk/ (Pay Gap Data)
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