Directors: Females

Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy written question – answered at on 15 July 2019.

Alert me about debates like this

Photo of Lord Taylor of Warwick Lord Taylor of Warwick Non-affiliated

To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to introduce legislation to require businesses to appoint equal numbers of men and women at board level.

Photo of Lord Henley Lord Henley Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy)

The Government is committed to working with the business community to create more inclusive workplaces from the shop floor to the boardroom. The Government has commissioned and supports several business-led, independent reviews on promoting diversity, including the Hampton-Alexander Review to increase the representation of women on boards and in senior leadership positions in FTSE 350 companies to 33% by 2020 and the Parker Review to increase the ethnic diversity of FTSE 350 boards by 2024.

These reviews form part of the Government’s modern Industrial Strategy which aims to build an economy that works for all.

The statistics recently published by the Hampton-Alexander Review on 1st July, show that the business-led approach to creating more balanced boards is working, as the representation of women on FTSE 100 boards has risen to 32.1% from 12.5% in 2011. The number of all-male boards across the FTSE 350 is also down to four from 152 in 2011. The Government has no plans to introduce legislation to require equal numbers of men and women at board level.

Does this answer the above question?

Yes1 person thinks so

No0 people think not

Would you like to ask a question like this yourself? Use our Freedom of Information site.