Government slams 'outrageous' excuses for gender imbalance on FTSE 350 boards

Ten firms in FTSE 350 do not have a single female board member

Beth Brearley
clock • 2 min read

Government ministers have condemned the excuses given by the heads of some of the UK's largest companies for a lack a women on boards as "outrageous" on the back of a government-commissioned review.

A report released today revealed executives claimed that women "don't want the hassle" of joining a board, or feel that they do not "fit comfortably into the board environment", with one business leader suggesting women would struggle with "extremely complex issues". Ten firms in the FTSE 350 do not have a single female board member, although this is an improvement on 2011 when there were 152. The Hampton-Alexander review of gender representation in UK-listed companies was commissioned by the business department (BEIS) and launched in November 2016, led by GlaxoSmithKline chair Sir Ph...

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