Listed companies have been told that women should hold at least 40% of their board seats.
The Financial Conduct Authority on Tuesday published long-awaited rules intended to boost diversity in senior positions at companies listed in London.
These comprise targets to increase the number of women in boardroom roles, including in senior positions such as chief executive or finance director, and ensuring boards have at least one ethnic minority member.
The FCA has stopped short of setting mandatory quotas, but instead has asked companies to either comply or explain why they could not reach the targets.
According to the review, female representation on boards stood at an average of 39.1% across the FTSE 100 in 2021. But it was lower across the FTSE 250 at 36.8%, and 37.6% for the FTSE 350.
Women held fewer than a third of FTSE 350 leadership roles in 2021, with just 18 female chief executives and 49 female finance directors across the FTSE 350.
More than 72 FTSE 350 companies last year fell short of previous government-backed targets for women to hold a third of board positions, according to data from the FTSE Women Leaders Review set up to increase gender parity at the senior level.
The FCA will review the policy, which will apply to accounting periods starting on or after 1 April 2022, in three years.
