Why are there only four female chief executives in Britain’s top 100 companies? Do the other 96 boardrooms dislike women?
The curious fact is that most large companies I know are desperate to appoint women to their boards. A whole industry has sprung up in recent years helping organisations become more diverse in their leadership mix. Yet at the very top, it seems corporates either do not want – or cannot find – female talent to help balance out the sexes.
There are women being appointed to big company boards, but most of them are non-executives. Those board members have a certain amount of influence, but nothing like the power of the executives who control the levers. Business needs more female bosses.