Jane Scott: A milestone looms for women on the board

I challenge anyone scrutinising the credentials of the women appointed to FTSE 100 boards in the past five years to claim that they are not there on merit. When I look down the list of about 200, I see a wealth of talent and global experience across a wide range of sectors and skills. Those responsible for appointing them have not compromised on expertise for the sake of gender balance.

Last week Elin Hurvenes and I celebrated the fifth anniversary of the launch of the Professional Boards Forum in the UK. We identify and promote “board-ready” women for FTSE non-executive directorships and it’s neat timing that we are about to see the end of the era of the all-male FTSE 100 board. Just one appointment, but as a milestone, one that is highly charged for me.

Mining giant Glencore Xstrata is reported to be about to appoint its first woman director. I will finally be able to delete from BoardWatch, our appointments tracking update, the section that has been steadily counting down the FTSE 100 all-male boards.

Five years ago a fifth of FTSE 100 companies did not have a single woman on their boards. Chairmen told us they were pushing for more women directors, but were hearing from head-hunters that there was a shortage of women with the right qualifications. Yet we found we only had to scratch the surface to discover a rich seam of excellent candidates, many of whom now hold board seats and are greatly valued contributors. Inspirational and vocal chairmen like Sir Philip Hampton and Sir Roger Carr were joined by dozens of other chairmen at our early forum events, underlining the demand for this talent pool.

In 2011, the government’s Davies Report rejected quotas, to the relief of the vast majority of the business community. So, in the UK, progress for women directors in FTSE companies has been voluntary, not imposed. Chairmen have appointed women directors because they, like us, believe diverse boards make better decisions and have better insights into the risks and opportunities they face.

This is change driven by business interests, not political correctness.

The call for action has been steadily amplified by the voices of the media, major investors, the Government, senior business figures, men and women alike, and by the 30% Club, led by Helena Morrissey. Headhunters have pledged to put more women on their shortlists in future.

The demise of the FTSE 100 all-male board is excellent news, but 62 companies in this group still fall short of the government’s 2015 target of 25 per cent women directors and that target is not as ambitious as I would like it to be. There is still no shortage of talented, qualified candidates.

The lion’s share of progress has come, to date, from an increase in women non-executive directors. But the agenda is moving on. The debate has thrown light onto the lack of women in the top full-time jobs, the executive directors. Only seven per cent of these FTSE 100 roles are currently held by women. The UK’s largest companies are now looking to their pipeline of future leaders and are setting about finding the best ways to develop and retain their best people, both men and women.

Jane Scott is UK director of the Professional Boards Forum and tracks appointments of women to UK boards. She is a founder steering committee member of the 30% Club.