Equalities minister Jo Swinson today warned moves to get more women on leading company boards were “slowing to a worrying pace”.
She spoke out ahead of a meeting with energy executives in London to encourage more of them to tackle gender imbalances at the top of their firms.
Ministers are concerned too many businesses will miss the goal of ensuring a quarter of board members are female by 2015.
This target, initially for FTSE 100 companies, was set by the boards diversity czar Lord Davies of Abersoch two years ago.
In a report in the spring, Lord Davies said that 17.3 per cent of FTSE 100 and 13.2 per cent of FTSE 250 board directors were women, up from 12.5 per cent and 7.8 per cent respectively in February 2011. But Ms Swinson told The Standard: “Progress has slowed to a worrying pace in the last few months by some of our top companies.”
She said it was not just “a fairness issue”, adding: “A diverse board ensures there are different perspectives and broader experience.”
