Board diversity management in FTSE 350 - so close and yet so far: reflections and the way forward

Board diversity is interpreted to encompass a range of demographic characteristics, and its management is addressed with different approaches, aligning with the prevailing institutional practices in different countries. The United Kingdom, a pioneer in corporate governance reforms, has been a trailblazer advocate for more inclusive and varied boards for enhanced board effectiveness. Remarkably, without strict mandates, leading UK companies have achieved noteworthy yet measured advancements in promoting gender diversity within their boardrooms. However, diversity management accomplishments in the UK are mainly limited to Non-Executive Director positions in FTSE 100 boards. The Executive Director positions, Committee reporting positions, Chairs and CEO roles remain overwhelmingly male-dominated. Furthermore, the Gender Pay Gap (hereafter GPG) in the UK remains even lower than Europe’s average. The paradox of patchy board diversity and other inequities, despite a significant push for its management, is hard to understand with secondary sources such as companies’ annual reports. Therefore, through interactions with 57 corporate elites, we examine the progress in gender diversity management on boards, the challenges in achieving them, and the way forward. The study recommends focusing on the experience instead of the demographic attributes of the directors. We also report a deeply embedded historical bias which continues gender imbalance across leadership hierarchies and recommend continuing voluntary targets for its redressal. Finally, we find that female Directors are under harsher scrutiny, which may hamper their natural leadership style, depriving boards of the benefits of a diverse composition. Contributions to literature, praxis and policy are recorded in the chapter.