If we want true gender equality in the boardroom, we must go beyond box-ticking

While the number of all-male boards in the FTSE350 dropping to zero is a major milestone, the City can’t clap itself on the back just yet, Chris Blackhurst writes

Sisters are still having to do it for themselves, basically (Getty)

There are now no all-male boards in the FTSE 350.

The government-backed Hampton-Alexander Review has found the number of women on boards rose from 682 in October 2015 to 1,026 in January this year. That represents a rise from 21.9 per cent to 34.3 per cent, meaning a target for at least a third of directorships belonging to women has been met.

That’s a major milestone, and one I admit, I did not think would be possible to reach in such a short time. Campaigners like the 30% Club, which set the original target of a minimum of 30 per cent of FTSE100 directors being female (a level the higher index surpassed in 2018), have every right to feel proud. The boardrooms of Britain’s leading companies are transformed.