Over the past decade, women have become far more visible on the boards of listed companies globally. In the UK, for example, the percentage of women sitting on FTSE 100 boards stood at 43.4% in 2024, according to research by Cranfield School of Management. That’s up from 20.7% a decade previously.
The story is equally positive in the US, where women held 35.4% of board seats in the largest 100 companies of the Russell 3000 index in 2024, according to the 50/50 Women on Boards Gender Diversity Index, up from 23.9% in 2017. There’s a similar picture in the EU, where women make up 34% of boards in the largest listed companies, a significant improvement on 23.3% in 2016.
‘There is no single definition of what an NED looks like; boards come in all shapes and sizes’
Positive change
This progress can be attributed to policy initiatives such as gender targets as well as shareholders and other stakeholders demanding greater diversity on boards. ‘Clearly, more work needs to be done, and is being done, but I think the narrative around board composition has changed quite positively over the course of the last few years,’ says Luke Main, a senior associate within the board practice at search firm Korn Ferry.
Nevertheless, while data shows a significant improvement in the percentage of female non-executive directors (NEDs) sitting on boards, women are still far less likely than men to serve either as chairs or in executive positions. It is precisely for this reason that the UK Financial Conduct Authority’s ‘comply-or-explain’ targets specify that a woman should hold at least one of the following senior board positions: chair, CEO, CFO or senior independent director.
Independent role
Regardless of their gender, all NEDs are expected to provide independent advice and oversight to companies. Often, they are chosen because of their commercial background or professional knowledge. But while many NEDs either hold executive roles, or have held them in the past, it is not necessarily the case that an NED must have executive experience.
‘Expertise in areas like technology, sustainability and communications is increasingly highly valued’
‘There is no single definition of what an NED looks like,’ says Main. ‘Boards come in all shapes and sizes. While commercial leadership experience can be useful, so can specialist functional expertise or experience of working with the government or within communities.’
Aspiring female NEDs should highlight the unique value that their individual expertise, broader experience and career history can bring to the table, argues Terri Fielding, Deloitte audit and assurance partner and partner sponsor of the Deloitte Academy UK Diversity on Boards programme. ‘NEDs are typically recruited to complement the existing skill set of the board,’ she explains, ‘and provide expertise aligned with the company’s medium- to long-term strategic objectives.’
‘When you’re part of a board of directors, you have more of a strategic overview’
Fielding adds that new skills are becoming increasingly important as board agendas evolve. ‘Expertise in areas like technology, sustainability and communications is increasingly highly valued,’ she says. ‘While deep industry knowledge remains crucial, cross-sector or outside industry experience is incredibly beneficial, offering diverse perspectives and constructive challenge.’
Serving as an NED can bring significant career advantages to women who already hold or aspire to executive roles, according to Fielding. ‘It allows them to broaden their knowledge of different industries and business models,’ she says. ‘Furthermore, the role provides excellent networking opportunities, enabling connections within a wider business context.’
Real-life perspective
Women who want to develop themselves as NEDs can start out by taking a voluntary role with a charity or non-profit organisation. This was the route taken by Emma Calvert, director of women’s cricket at Surrey County Cricket Club.
Top tips
- Be curious. Find out what’s going on in your organisation, understand its challenges and opportunities, and be proactive about how you can help.
- Learn how to be available and share your knowledge without trying to run the organisation.
- Build rapport with the executive team so you gain their trust and confidence.
- Be well prepared for board meetings. Read the documentation in advance and send any questions through to the executives ahead of the meeting so they can come with answers.
- Provide a healthy degree of challenge and questioning so that you add value in board conversations.
- Have a passion for the organisation. Then you’ll naturally feel more enthusiastic and want to contribute.
A non-executive finance and risk director for non-profit British Wheelchair Basketball, Calvert derives immense personal satisfaction from her involvement with a Paralympic sport. But she also believes that her experience as an NED helped her to land her rewarding executive day job. ‘My previous roles had been very focused on finance,’ she says. ‘But when you’re part of a board of directors, you have more of a strategic overview. It showed I had more strings to my bow.’
‘You don’t need to know every bit of the organisation because you’re not running it every day’
A challenge for new NEDs, as Calvert discovered, is resisting the urge to try to do the executives’ jobs for them. ‘A big learning curve for me was that you don’t need to know every bit of the organisation because you’re not running it every day,’ she explains. ‘You’re quite hands-off, but you’re there when your exec needs you and wants to tap into your specific experiences.’
Financial literacy has traditionally been regarded as an asset for those seeking board positions. Certainly, Calvert has found her ACCA qualification an advantage, not least because she chairs her board’s finance, risk and governance committee. ‘Everyone on our board is expected to review and understand the accounts,’ she says. ‘So, if you have financial knowledge, that’s already a good start.’
ACCA deputy president Melanie Proffitt sat on the board of a further education college for four years and chaired its finance committee. She believes that NEDs build trust with their organisation by demonstrating empathy – a quality that studies have identified as being more in evidence in women.
‘Building trust comes from having the right interpersonal skills, creating rapport and making people feel comfortable,’ Proffitt says. ‘It comes from understanding their challenges and perspective, so you can bring your external perspective and an independent, objective view.’
Bigger picture
Serving as an NED can help with the development of forward-looking business skills, according to Proffitt. ‘It teaches you to take a step back and look at the big picture,’ she explains, ‘because you’re not in the operational detail. You should be asking strategic questions and probing. What do the future projections look like, and what are the risks and opportunities that the organisation might be facing?’
Ultimately, while gender diversity on boards has increased, there is still room for improvement – for listed companies, as well as other organisations. For example, research by data provider Addidat and Indigo Independent Governance revealed that women only held one in six directorships in companies listed on London’s Alternative Investment Market last year.
Proffitt believes that female NEDs should therefore encourage other women to follow in their footsteps, both by acting as role models themselves and supporting their peers. She says: ‘The women who get board positions need to hold out a hand to the next generation of female leaders.’
ACCA members are well qualified to take advise boards as non-executive directors. Find out the skills needed and rewards these roles offer from fellow members.
More information
Join the IWD conversation with ACCA’s all-female council team and students on gender equity, accelerating change and career aspirations
