Dismay as number of female board members shrinks

Britain's economic recovery is being held back by a lack of women in the boardroom

New analysis in this week’s BDO Yorkshire Report shows the proportion of female directors fell to 11 per cent from 15 per cent during the last year.

The business advisory firm’s figures showed that of the 1,182 directorships in Yorkshire’s biggest companies, just 142 were held by women.

The figures show that Yorkshire is lagging well behind the FTSE 100, which reached the 25 per cent target in 2015 and is now aiming for the new target of 33 per cent.

And the region’s poor showing is at odds with Government efforts to increase female representation at the top of business and reverses the improvement seen in Yorkshire boardrooms over recent years.

The Government-commissioned Hampton-Alexander review, published in November, said gender diversity in business leadership is good for company performance and productivity; it benefits investors, the wider economy and society as a whole and increases trust in business.

Terry Jones, partner and head of BDO in Yorkshire, said: “Corporate Yorkshire is holding itself back by excluding talent from the boardroom. They must embrace diversity in all its forms to get to grips with the world and how it is changing, particularly in attitudes and technologies.

“Yorkshire’s corporates have a long way to go to catch up. It looks like there might be a cultural issue, and this is particularly disappointing after the progress made in recent years.”

Diane Cheesebrough, deputy chief executive at the thebigword, said: “The figures are concerning, not just for women but for business in general.

“The evidence is clear that companies with more diverse boards perform better than those with less diverse boards as they benefit from differing perspectives, skills and experience.

The BDO Yorkshire Report is the annual bellwether for corporate Yorkshire an will be published this Thursday.