The internal pipeline of female and ethnic minority leaders is declining across the FTSE 100
There are only 36 women at a C-suite level across the FTSE-100, a total of 12.2%, according to a new report that warns that at this rate of change, it would be 2059 before women held 50% of the top three roles.
Green Park, a recruitment consultancy, said that ethnic minority and female leaders are being sidelined in non-executive director roles or functions that hold less influence and are less likely to lead to a C-suite promotion.
Looking at FTSE 100 companies, it found that at 71.1% female, human resources has the greatest female representation of the functions analysed, followed by marketing and communications (50%); and legal, compliance & risk (36.5%).
Green Park research: No black CEOs, chairs or CFOs at FTSE 100 companies
In the top three roles of CEO, CFO and chair there are just 36 women in total (12.2%). Although this is an increase of 23 roles since Green Park's first analysis in 2014, where the females made up 4.3% of the top roles, the report warned that at the current rate of three additional women per year "it will be 2059 before women hold 50% of the top 3 roles".
"To achieve results at the most senior levels and to sustain progress for gender diversity on boards, leaders must believe diversity and inclusion is integral to the success of their firm and embed this into the business agenda," Baroness Helena Morrissey, non-executive director at Green Park, said.
"Add DEI on strategy day agendas; reward or penalise managers for their inclusive or exclusive behaviours and listen directly to the experiences of women, of ethnic minorities and other underrepresented groups rather than delegate the topic to HR. We need to see more leaders become true allies with their own goals bound together with those of their diverse talent," she added.
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Ethnic minorities made up 29.2% of high-level roles in the diversity and inclusion category, with women from minority backgrounds in 22.9% of these jobs and men from minority backgrounds in 6.3% of jobs. In the top three roles of the FTSE 100, "organisations have failed to improve ethnic diversity with only 11 ethnic minority chairs, CEOs and CFOs", Green Prk said.
"At this rate of change - one leader every eight years - it would take until the year 2237 (216 years) until ethnic minorities were proportionately represented (13%) at top three level," the report added. "These figures put some flesh on the bone of last year's protests.
"We know there is no shortage of qualified candidates to fill these roles if companies are willing to look. Yet the snowy peaks of British business remain stubbornly white. This is not happening by accident. It is a consequence of what we do and what we do not do. That is why we cannot go back to business as usual," Trevor Phillips, chair of Green Park, said.
