The sort of person who gets to lead a FTSE 100 company has been under the microscope for more than a decade. Over this period, several government reviews have examined the shortfall in female or non-white directors in blue-chip C-suites. Although progress has been made – companies on the index recently hit the overall target of 40% female directors and at least one ethnic minority board member – there’s still a long way to go.
To bridge these gaps, a “much more concerted effort” is required from boards of large listed companies. That’s the view of Hephzi Pemberton, founder and CEO of Equality Group, a diversity and inclusion consultancy.
Noting that there’s never been a woman from an ethnic minority at the helm of a FTSE 100 firm, she says: “This makes me think that boards simply aren’t looking at succession planning properly. What an amazing easy win it would be to have the first woman of colour as a CEO in the FTSE 100. Why wouldn't you want that accolade for your company?”