One in ten executive board appointments filled by women

Just ten per cent of recent executive director appointments were filled by a female candidate, new research reveals.

A new report by business advisory firm Deloitte suggests that despite over three quarters of companies actively trying to increase diversity of their boards, there has still been a lack of executive roles filled by women.

Almost 30% of FTSE 350 non-executive board appointments in the past year were women, which is more than double the overall proportion of women on boards.

But company secretary and non-executive director respondents were clear that although a board is likely to be more effective if it is has a good balance of skills, background and diversity of personal experience, specific issues of gender, age and nationality are less important.