Women hold 43% of FTSE 350 board seats but 8% of CEO roles. What the stalled pipeline means for the audience, timing and topics of your 2027 speaker programme.
UK boards look close to balance. Women now hold 43% of FTSE 350 board positions, up from 10% in 2011. One level down the picture changes: women hold 36% of executive committee and direct report roles, 17% of chair roles and 8% of CEO roles in the FTSE 350.
The FTSE Women Leaders Review 2026 also recorded a slowdown. The share of new FTSE 350 board appointments going to women fell to 42% in 2025, from 46% the year before. Women hold 15% of executive director roles, and 18% of FTSE 350 companies have no women in any of the four key roles of chair, senior independent director, CEO and CFO.
This piece is for the L&D, HR and inclusion teams planning their 2027 programme. It sets out where progress has stalled, what the data says about the cause, and what that changes in the way you plan speakers and sessions.
| Measure (FTSE 350, Review 2026) | Figure |
|---|---|
Women on boards | 43% |
Women in executive committee and direct report roles | 36% |
Women executive directors | 15% |
Women CEOs | 8% |
Women chairs | 17% |
Women finance directors | 21% |
Share of new board appointments going to women | 42% in 2025, down from 46% in 2024 |
The gap sits between non-executive and executive roles. Board numbers rose under the voluntary targets set by successive reviews, through appointments made by nomination committees. Executive roles fill from the internal pipeline, and the pipeline narrows long before anyone reaches the executive committee.
The most detailed data on this comes from the US. Women in the Workplace 2025, the annual study by McKinsey and LeanIn.Org, measures each step of the career ladder. Its findings point to the first step:
The US figures describe a different labour market, so treat them as a guide to where to look. The pattern they show matches the FTSE data: the losses start at the first promotion, and they compound at every level above it.
Many programmes still place their women-in-leadership content around 8 March. A single inspiring keynote reaches the people who already care. The data points to a different set of decisions.
| Programme decision | What the data points to | Session idea |
|---|---|---|
Audience | The first promotion is decided by line managers and talent panels | A session for the managers who run promotion and talent reviews |
Timing | Promotions follow the talent review cycle | Place sessions before talent review and promotion rounds, with 8 March as one point in the year |
Topic | Sponsorship, bias in promotion decisions and access to new skills | Sponsorship in practice, designing fair decisions, AI skills for every level |
Measurement | Promotion rates and sponsorship can be counted | Record promotion and sponsorship rates by gender before the programme and twelve months after |
Line managers are the audience that moves these numbers, a point we also made in our piece on planning a leadership offsite. For measurement, the approach in psychological safety as a KPI applies here too: agree the baseline before you book.
Professor Iris Bohnet on moving from intention to action:
Professor Iris Bohnet | Women in leadership: intention to action (YouTube)
For evidence on what works in day-to-day management, see our guide to evidence-based strategies for inclusive leadership. For dates beyond 8 March, our piece on gender equality beyond International Women's Day covers the calendar.
At board level progress continues: women hold 43% of FTSE 350 board positions. Executive roles have moved more slowly. Women hold 36% of executive committee and direct report roles and 8% of CEO roles, and the share of new board appointments going to women fell to 42% in 2025 from 46% in 2024, according to the FTSE Women Leaders Review 2026.
The broken rung is the gap at the first promotion to manager. In the US study Women in the Workplace 2025, 93 women were promoted to manager for every 100 men, and 74 women of colour. Because fewer women make the first step, the gap grows at every level above it.
Include the line managers and talent panels who make promotion decisions, as well as the women the programme aims to support. The first promotion is usually decided at manager level, so that audience has the most direct effect on the numbers.
Link them to your talent review and promotion cycle so the content reaches managers before they make decisions. International Women's Day on 8 March can be one point in the year among several.
Record promotion rates and sponsorship rates by gender before the programme starts, then compare them twelve months later. Attendance and feedback scores show reach, while promotion and sponsorship data show whether decisions changed.
After Dinner Speakers
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