Activists call for measures against the gender gap after the “unacceptable” decline of women in senior corporate positions

Campaigners have criticized an “unacceptable” decline in women in senior corporate roles.

A grim report showed the number of female executives at Britain’s biggest companies has fallen for the first time in eight years.

Research published yesterday said the reversal means it could take five more generations before there is an equal split between men and women in leadership teams.

The authors of the report by consultancy The Pipeline called on companies to take urgent action to achieve “real change”, saying there is “no room for complacency” in the effort to achieve gender parity at major companies in Great Britain. Brittany.

According to the research, only 9 per cent of chief executives and just 18 per cent of finance heads at FTSE 350 companies are women.

The figure has only increased twice in the last seven years. Female representation on the executive committees of the 350 largest London-listed companies has fallen from 33 to 32 percent, the first drop since 2016.

Only 19 percent of business positions in boardrooms are held by women, compared to 20 percent a year earlier.

Geeta Nargund, president of The Pipeline, said it is “unacceptable that gender representation in business leadership is going backwards in 2024.”

“Gender parity means economic prosperity, so fair representation is not just a ‘nice to have’ or a box-ticking exercise: it is a business imperative,” she said. “Now is the time for both businesses and leaders to act to initiate real change.”

The report says companies with gender-inclusive cultures and equal employment opportunity policies are 60 percent more likely to have improved profits and productivity.

Campaigners called for better flexible working and parental leave policies, as well as promoting and investing in female leadership. Liz Stanley, the group’s executive director, said the situation “is getting worse rather than better.”

“There is no room for complacency,” he said.

‘We simply cannot afford for companies to lose focus or pay lip service when it comes to promoting and supporting women. The pace of progress had already been glacial.’

Only nine of the FTSE 100 bosses are women, including Aviva chief executive Amanda Blanc and pharma giant GSK’s Emma Walmsley.