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Women Count

Since 2016, The Pipeline has conducted research annually into the FTSE 350 to analyse the state of gender diversity at executive and board level.

"If Lehman Brothers had been Lehman Sisters, would they have precipitated the same credit crunch and subsequent banking crisis? Having men and women at the top table makes Boards and Executive Committees smarter and leads to better decision making. "
Lord O'Neill - Chair of Chatham House , and former Chairman of Goldman Sachs Asset Management

The Women Count series is the only study which reviews the role, value and number of women executives in the FTSE 350. The data was gathered through a mixed-methods approach examining company websites, annual and other reports and direct contact with companies.

"Diversity and inclusion should not simply be a target and a page in the annual report, it’s vital for the success of the business and when the Board and Executive Committee support that, it massively enables and accelerates the chances of progress. I am proud of what we have achieved so far but we need to do more to tackle the gap. It’s not only the right thing to do, but it will make for a better and more successful business."
Penny James - CEO, Direct Line Group

Business performance is maximised when women are promoted

• In 2019 FTSE 350 companies with 25% or more women on their executive committees achieved an impressive 16% net profit margin, 10% more than businesses without a single woman on their executive committee.

• Companies with no women on their executive committees only achieved a net profit margin (NPM) of ^% in 2019, a further fall from the 8.9% NPM seen in 2018. Without women in key positions, these companies are dropping even further behind their competitors.

The percentage of FTSE 350 Executive Committees is low

• A mere 17.1% of FTSE 350 executive committee memebers are women, a tiny 0.8% increase on 2018.

• At the current rate of progress, it will take nearly 70 years before FTSE 350 executive committees achieve full gender balance. Since 2016 the number of women executive members.

Across the globe, it's still a man's world

Women are almost non-existent at the most senior levels of major companies in many countries around the world. For the first time, Women Count analysed domestic listings in different nations to compare international performance, and the result is concerning. There was not a single woman CEO on the German (DAX 30) or Indian (Nifty 50). While China (SSE 50), Hong Kong (HS I50), the USA (Dow 30), Spain (IBEX 35) and France (CAC 40) have only one woman CEO each.