Hopkins Longworth Executive Search

Hampton-Alexander Review - FTSE Women Leaders - Sarah Hopkins was proud to attend the launch of the 2018 Report

At the launch of its third annual review last week, the Hampton Alexander report revealed that there are only 12 female chief executives among Britain's 350 leading listed companies and almost one in four of these firms still have only one woman on their board.

The original target of 33% female representation on FTSE Boards by 2020 looks to be being achieved; although the fact that the number of female chief executives is reducing and the number of companies with 'one and done' (one female on the board with little effort being made to increase numbers) plus the fact that there are still companies with all male boards made for concerning reading.

There was an animated discussion with some high profile female leaders contributing their thoughts and ideas which were stimulating and exciting for the future, particularly Miriam Gonzalez-Durantez who called for more to be done and "a revolution"!

"I was most proud to be at the Hampton Alexander Review Launch and it was an impressive event hosted by KPMG in Canary Wharf.  There was a real buzz in the room showing this critical topic is still front of mind and has a sea of support for it."

"However the results left me thinking of my old school reports and the comment 'could do better'!  The panellists were supportive of a stronger more proactive approach which I would agree with although I think there needs to be a middle ground between evolution and revolution to ensure long term success"

"We must congratulate those who have made such great strides forward and support the work to develop the future pipelines of candidates into these important high profile roles."

"The critical role we, as recruitment consultants, play in supporting clients in finding and managing female candidates to create more balanced boards was once again highlighted,"  commented Sarah Hopkins, Director, HopkinsLongworth Executive Search

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