Following the announcement of the EU consultation on board gender imbalance, Lord Davies published the first annual progress report on his review of Women on Boards in the UK. Although progress has been slow in the EU, since the Davies review was published a year ago, the largest-ever annual increase in the percentage of women on boards has been seen in the UK.
The report tracks the progress that has been made against each of Lord Davies’ ten original recommendations. Since the review was published a year ago, the progress report, Women on Boards 2012, shows the largest-ever annual increase in the percentage of women on boards. Lord Davies said: “I believe that we are finally seeing a culture change taking place right at the very heart of British business in relation to how women are seen within the workforce. Some excellent work has taken place .. however, I must also emphasise that efforts need to be ramped up and the speed of change accelerated if we’re to avoid Government interference.” As of the end of February 2012, within the FTSE 100: (i) women now account for 15.6% of all directorships, up from 12.5%; (ii) 47 female appointments have been made since publication of the women on boards report last February; (iii) 27% of all board appointments have been taken up by women, up from 13%; and (iv) just 11 all-male boards remain, down from 21
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