Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to require companies to publish action plans on how they aim to increase the number of women in FTSE 100 boardroom roles.

Decisions about the publishing of action plans are for private companies to make, and not subject to any mandatory Government requirements. However, since 2011 the Government has sponsored and supported a series of independent reviews, aimed at increasing the proportion of women in top FTSE roles. This business led approach to increasing the proportion of women on boards has involved voluntary targets, persuasive and informative information campaigns as well as active tracking of the FTSE performance.

Since 2011 the proportion of women on FTSE 350 boards has increased from 9.5% in 2011, to 37.6% at the end of 2021. The independent reviews initially set a target of 25% of board members should be women (under the Davies Review), followed by 33% (under the Hampton-Alexander Review) and, finally, 40% under the FTSE Women Leaders Review, the latest report for which was published on 22^nd February 2022.

The significant progress made in women on FTSE boards has allowed the UK to this year rank in second place, behind France, when compared internationally to other countries working to improve the gender balance on the boards of public listed companies. The UK is now ranked higher than countries who have set a statutory quota for women on boards.