Women Are Still Struggling To Make It Big In The UK

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(Bloomberg) — Women are increasingly being hired for the roles at companies that tend to lead to the CEO slot, but they’re still largely missing at the highest rungs of British corporations. 

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Women now make up 23% of chief financial officers, chief operating officers, divisional bosses or are already chief executives across the FTSE 100, according to new research by 25×25, an organization formed to help boost the level of female talent at the top of British companies. That’s up from 16% in 2021, the group said.

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The increase is significant, the organization found, because 90% of the CEOs of the country’s largest companies came from one of those roles. However, just two of the 17 CEOs appointed in the FTSE 100 between June 2023 and June 2024 were women.

Research shows how much of an uphill battle women have. Even today, only nine managers of the FTSE 100 are women, down from 11 the index reached earlier this year.

Read more: Bloomberg to host first Women, Money and Power event

“The paths to CEO are incredibly narrow,” says Tara Cemlyn-Jones, a former investment banker who now heads 25×25. “Most developed their skills and knowledge in small silos.”

Cemlyn-Jones – whose organization includes public and private companies from various sectors, including NatWest Group Plc, BP Plc, Unilever Plc and BAE Systems Plc – has encouraged companies to take a more flexible approach to candidate selection, which she believes will allow more women. reach the top.

Of course, the UK is not alone. A separate study from Bloomberg Intelligence found that globally, only 6% of CEOs are women, with rates ranging from 3% in emerging markets to 8% in the US and Europe.

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“Women have made little progress in the C-Suite,” said Adeline Diab, director of research and chief ESG strategist at Bloomberg Intelligence. “Three out of four companies still do not have women in C-Suite positions.”

35% of leadership positions are held by women, according to this year’s FTSE Women Leaders Review of the UK’s top 350 companies – although that figure “masks the truth,” said Pavita Cooper, UK chair of the 30% Club, in the campaign . for more women on boards. There are not enough of those women in charge of key parts of the business that could put them on the path to the position of CEO, he said.

Part of the problem is that some stakeholders – such as board members and headhunters – are “unknowingly drawn” to the many women who reach the position of CEO and instead encourage boards to appoint people like the incumbent CEO, Cemlyn. – Said Jones.

“I think UK boards are becoming increasingly risk averse,” Chris O’Shea, CEO of £6.6 billion energy company Centrica, said in the survey. “And some of that is driven by some of the administrative rules that we have.”

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What Bloomberg Intelligence says:

Women have made little progress in the C-Suite but momentum may be picking up, with recent appointments including CEOs of S&P and HKEX and CFOs of HSBC and Ford. Although qualified people are there, more effort is needed to help them break the glass ceiling.

– Adeline Diab, Bloomberg Intelligence.

Employers also play a big role in who is appointed to lead UK companies because half of all FTSE 100 companies choose foreigners for top jobs, compared to a fifth of the largest companies in the US.

This puts women at a disadvantage, according to the 25×25 study, because hackers’ money is often linked to the CEO’s income. That may subconsciously encourage them to prioritize men, who often earn higher salaries, the study found.

The UK’s tendency to hire more CEOs from outside is particularly problematic for women, and suggests that boards do not trust their internal succession planning, 25×25 found.

Efforts to improve diversity in C-Suites and boardrooms around the world may soon face headwinds as incoming US President Donald Trump prepares to return to the White House in January. He vowed to end diversity, equity and inclusion programs as part of his promise to end “wokeness” in America.

Still, companies led by boards with more women delivered 2% to 5% higher returns in developed markets, according to Bloomberg Intelligence. Statistics like that can help keep these diversity initiatives at the forefront of companies, research shows.

“The financial performance associated with diversification reveals benefits and may prove a strong counter to any anti-resurrection rhetoric,” said Diab.

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