The UK’s largest private businesses will be expected to come in line with listed companies on gender parity amid a renewed push for more women to be appointed to senior leadership positions.
Recommendations that set a target for FTSE 350 companies to increase women’s representation to at least 40% of both boards and leadership teams by the end of 2025 have been published by the FTSE Women Leaders Review, a business-led body backed by government.
The review also set a goal for companies to have a woman in at least one of four key positions: board chair, senior independent director, chief executive and or finance director.
These targets will apply to the largest 50 private companies in the UK by sales.
Currently, female representation on boards stands at an average of 39.1% across the FTSE 100, 36.8% across the FTSE 250 and 37.6% for the FTSE 350.
