The number of women executive directors has greatly increased - reports Cranfield School of Management's Female FTSE Index

The Female FTSE research, by Cranfield School of Management, reveals that following two years of falling numbers of women directors in the FTSE 100 companies, numbers have increased.

This year, the fourth year the research has been carried out, there are more female directors than ever before. Up to 7.2% of all FTSE 100 board directors are female - an increase of seven women, thus making 75 in total compared to 68 last year. However, it is in executive director posts that a significant increase has been seen with a 50% improvement from 10 in 2001 to 15 in 2002.

Marks & Spencer tops the table for the second year running with a 27% female board - two female Executive Directors and a female Non-Executive Director. J Sainsbury comes a close second with a 25% female board, one female Executive Director and two Non-Executive Directors, a significant improvement on their 27th place position last year.

Susan Vinnicombe, Professor of Organisational Behaviour and Diversity Management, and Director of the Centre for Developing Women Business Leaders at Cranfield School of Management, co-authored the report. She said: "The increase in the number of female executive directors in the FTSE 100 this year is particularly pleasing. If this increase of 50% per annum continues we will have gender parity on corporate boards in seven years! Yet with the median total earnings of FTSE 100 lead executives passing £1.5 million this year, gender parity would require a quantum leap in male attitudes to power-sharing and remuneration for women."

The Rt Hon Harriet Harman MP commented: "All male boards are old-fashioned. Women are now consumers and employees and should not be shut out of the boardroom. All male boards will never deliver the family-friendly employment which women and their children need. How can women believe their work is taken seriously when it is ok for them to work at the bottom but it is men only at the top."

Val Singh, co-author of the research and Senior Research Fellow at Cranfield, said: "The welcome trend in appointments of second and third female directors to FTSE boards shows an increasing openness by some chairmen and CEOs towards 'walking the talk' on diversity and valuing difference. The time is right for reviewing the traditional all-male composition of board membership, so that the voice of women as stakeholders, employees, managers, consumers and shareholders in business and society can be heard."

Clara Freeman, Chairman of Opportunity Now, whose organisation will be presenting the award to the company with the highest percentage of women on their board at the annual Opportunity Now Awards in April 2003, says: "It's bad for women, bad for business and bad for the economy to waste the potential of half the UK's workforce. Chairmen of companies on this list should question how effective their leadership development is when only twelve companies have female executive directors."

Key findings:

Women executive director numbers show a 50% increase this year.

16 of the top 20 companies (by market capitalisation) have women directors, but only 8 of the bottom 20 firms do.

Six companies have three female directors (Executive and/or Non-Executive) - double the number in 2001.

There are still 39 top companies with no women directors

There is still only one female CEO (Marjorie Scardino of Pearson), one female Chairman (Baroness Hogg of 3i) and one female Joint Managing Director (Marie Melynk of Morrison Supermarkets)

A discussion of these findings and current trends and issues of gender in the workplace - specifically those relating to senior executives - will be provided at the forthcoming Institute of Directors' (IoD) Women's Leadership Summit 2002. The conference is being held at the IoD on 13th November in association with Cranfield School of Management and Aurora Gender Capital Management.

A further contribution to the debate on women in management was made by the publication of a book entitled "Women with Attitude: Lessons for Career Management" on 24th October 2002. (The content of the book is based on interviews

with the Veuve Clicquot Business Women of the Year winners, three of whom are FTSE 100 board members). It is written by Susan Vinnicombe and John Bank, both Cranfield School of Management faculty members, and published by Routledge 2002.

Notes to editors:

Press enquiries: If you would like any further information, or to request a copy of the full report of this research "The 2002 Female FTSE Report: Women Directors Moving Forwards", please contact Lorraine Wood, Press Officer, Cranfield School of Management, Tel: 01234 754348, fax: 01234 754810; e-mail: [email protected]

Professor Sue Vinnicombe and Dr Val Singh from Cranfield School of Management are available for interview. They can be contacted through the Cranfield School of Management Press Office on 01234 754348.

Harriet Harman is also available for interview. She can be contacted on 07769 587155.

Clara Freeman is also available for interview. She can be contacted on 02075668714.

About Cranfield School of Management: Cranfield is a world-class university business school, based in the UK. Renowned for its strong links with industry and business. it is committed to providing practical management solutions through a range of activities, including: postgraduate degree programs, management development, research and consultancy - www.cranfield.ac.uk/som

For more details on the IoD Women's Leadership Summit please visit the website: www.iod.com/wls or contact Caroline Dyer on 020 7766 8834 or e-mail: [email protected]