When this article first appeared in 2013, the Cranfield Female FTSE Report showed women held just 17% of board seats in FTSE 100 companies and the Davies Review was urging firms to reach 25%. More than a decade later, the case for women on boards UK has been proved repeatedly. The most recent FTSE Women Leaders Review, published in 2024, found women held 42.1% of FTSE 100 directorships and the FTSE 350 as a whole was close to 40% female representation. There were no all-male boards left in the FTSE 350. Yet the job is far from done.

Why women on boards UK still matters

The business case for gender diversity at the top has only strengthened since 2013. McKinsey & Company’s 2020 Diversity Wins report found that companies in the top quartile for gender diversity on executive teams were 25% more likely to achieve above-average profitability than those in the bottom quartile. In the UK, the FTSE Women Leaders Review has consistently reported that companies with more balanced boards tend to outperform less diverse peers on measures such as innovation, talent retention and risk management.

Diverse boards are less likely to fall prey to groupthink. They bring a wider range of customer insight, challenge assumptions more rigorously and make decisions that reflect the society their companies serve. That is not just a matter of fairness; it is a competitive advantage. Investors, customers and employees increasingly expect leadership teams to mirror the communities they operate in.

From targets to lasting cultural change

The UK’s approach has been driven by a series of voluntary, business-led reviews. The Davies Review’s 25% target was met in 2015. The Hampton-Alexander Review then pushed for 33% female representation in FTSE 350 leadership by 2020, which was also achieved. The FTSE Women Leaders Review set a target of 40% women on FTSE 350 boards and in leadership teams by the end of 2025.

With that deadline now passed, the question for 2026 is no longer whether boards can hit a percentage, but whether companies are building the executive pipeline that turns non-executive progress into CEO appointments. The proportion of women chief executives in the FTSE 100 remains only around 9%, according to the Cranfield Female FTSE Report 2024, and the pipeline of senior female executives is still too narrow. Real change requires more than hitting a number; it demands inclusive cultures, sponsorship programmes and recruitment practices that look beyond traditional networks.

The shift to hybrid and flexible working since the pandemic has shown that performance and presence are not the same thing. Organisations that embed flexible working into senior roles, flatten hierarchies and use consensus-style decision-making are better placed to retain ambitious women. Where a long-hours, tribal culture persists, talented women still leave.

The local economic dividend

The benefits of women in leadership extend well beyond the boardrooms of listed companies. Women in business across the UK lead small and medium-sized enterprises that contribute an estimated £85 billion to the economy each year, according to the independent Rose Review of Female Entrepreneurship. The same review found that removing barriers for women entrepreneurs could add up to £250 billion in gross value added. When women hold senior roles, they are more likely to mentor other women, invest in local supply chains and champion workplace policies that keep skilled people in the labour market.

Initiatives such as the Investing in Women Code, which asks financial institutions to improve women entrepreneurs’ access to finance, have helped. But regional delivery remains uneven, and many women outside the capital still report difficulty securing funding and networks.

Yet regional disparities remain. Rates of women’s entrepreneurship and board-level representation are generally lower outside London and the South East, and robust local data is hard to find. If cities and regions are serious about inclusive growth, they need their own benchmarks. A business school in the East Midlands, for example, could map the proportion of directorships held by women across Nottinghamshire and surrounding counties, giving local leaders a baseline and a target.

Growing our own leaders

Universities and business schools are anchor institutions in their local economies. Many cities already retain a significant share of their graduates. A regional Women in Leadership programme, tied to fast-growth local employers and backed by mayoral combined authorities and Local Skills Improvement Plans, could turn that graduate pool into a pipeline of board-ready talent.

Such programmes should combine paid placements, executive mentoring and board exposure with a commitment to remain in the region for a defined period. Done well, they would strengthen local enterprise, raise regional profiles and demonstrate that gender-balanced leadership is not a London-only story.

What needs to happen next

• Maintain pressure on listed companies to keep up progress at executive as well as board level.
• Extend transparency to the regions by collecting and publishing gender-disaggregated board data for local economies.
• Embed diversity requirements into public procurement and local growth funding.
• Support women entrepreneurs with access to finance, networks and business advice.
• Invest in leadership programmes that connect graduates with regional employers.

The UK has travelled a long way since 2013, but the risk of complacency remains. Women on boards UK are good for business, good for local economies and good for the country. The task now is to make that progress deep, durable and felt in every region.