Women Bosses Encounter Heightened Scrutiny Compared to Men, Government Review Finds
The chief executive of the FTSE Women Leaders Review has stated that female leaders often face more intense scrutiny than their male counterparts, with companies frequently resorting to familiar talent pools for top appointments.
Boardroom Targets Met, But Leadership Gaps Persist
Most of the United Kingdom's largest businesses have successfully achieved targets for gender representation within their boardrooms, according to the latest government-supported report. However, significant shortfalls remain when it comes to women occupying senior leadership positions, where they confront greater scrutiny and pervasive unconscious bias.
Data from the FTSE Women Leaders Review indicates that women held 43% of board positions across FTSE 350 companies in 2025. This represents a substantial increase from the 9.5% recorded when the review commenced fifteen years ago, marking a notable stride toward gender balance in the boardrooms of the UK's premier listed companies. Nevertheless, this proportion remains largely unchanged from the previous year.
Vivienne Artz, chief executive of the FTSE Women Leaders Review, commented that "the pace of change is naturally beginning to level as parity approaches." She added, "Boards are still making progress, which is great, but there's not as much progress to make."
Slow Progress in Key Executive Roles
The review, which enjoys government backing, monitors the advancement of FTSE 350 firms and fifty of the UK's largest private companies toward voluntary gender representation goals. The most recent report disclosed that the proportion of women in leadership roles within the FTSE 350 has marginally increased to 36% as of October 2025, up from 35% the prior year.
Within this figure, the share of women serving as chief executives rose to 8%, from 7%. There were nine female chief executives at FTSE 100 companies. Recent months have witnessed a series of high-profile departures of women from top listed companies, with men often stepping into their roles. Examples include Dame Emma Walmsley from pharmaceutical giant GSK, Liv Garfield from water supplier Severn Trent, and Debra Crew from Diageo.
Conversely, energy behemoth BP has appointed its first-ever female chief executive, who is scheduled to assume the position in April. Ms Artz noted that companies are making sluggish headway in achieving gender balance for CEO, chair, and finance director positions.
"It's because they are incredibly demanding and difficult roles to fill," she explained to the Press Association. "I think that too often we rely on the safe option which is, 'we're going to have someone who's done it before.'"
"And if you're always going back to fishing in the same pond then you're not finding new talent... you're not looking at skills and expertise, as opposed to a CV that you feel comfortable with and you've seen before," she elaborated.
Unconscious Bias and Additional Barriers
Furthermore, Ms Artz highlighted that women can encounter obstacles to leadership roles due to entrenched attitudes that have "not been easy to dismantle." She asserted, "I think we can say that female CEOs get a lot more scrutiny and they get judged on different things than male CEOs do."
She pointed out that discussions about personal matters, such as marital status or whether the individual has children, can be "distracting, and in many ways it diminishes the credibility of the leader." Ms Artz emphasized, "We do know that there is absolutely still unconscious bias and that there's attitudes that need to change."
Additionally, she argued that the high cost of childcare often forces families to make decisions that can "derail" or "sideline" a woman's professional trajectory.
Government Response and Corporate Standouts
In response to the report, Chancellor Rachel Reeves remarked that the data "shows how far we've come," but cautioned, "there is still a long way to go as women remain under-represented in key executive roles." She affirmed, "As Chancellor, I'm clear there should be no ceiling on a woman's ambition."
"When they can participate fully at every level, organisations make better decisions, innovate more and perform more strongly, boosting our whole economy," she concluded.
Business and Trade Secretary Peter Kyle stated, "It's essential that our top talent can reach the highest levels of leadership, which is why I'm so pleased the UK continues to lead the charge for gender equality in boardrooms." He added, "However, be in no doubt that despite this progress, there is still much more work to do."
Examining individual corporations, beverage titan Diageo and supermarket and services chain The Co-operative Group boast the highest female representation on their boards, at 77.8% and 72.7% respectively. Retailer Marks & Spencer, banking group HSBC, and water companies Severn Trent and Pennon Group are among those with representation exceeding 60%.
At the opposite end of the spectrum, parcel delivery firm Evri and yoghurt manufacturer Muller reported no women on their boards, while pub chains Mitchells & Butlers and Wetherspoons languished near the bottom of the list with 22% representation.
