Severn Trent tops table for FTSE 100 female board members

Cranfield University has ranked Severn Trent Water as the joint top UK quoted company for female representation at board level.

In its Female FTSE Board Report 2020, Cranfield reported Severn Trent and Taylor Wimpey leading the FTSE 100 list on percentage of women on their boards – with both companies at 56%. In its report, Cranfield said the pair were “not the most likely companies to be in that position, showing that where there is commitment to diversity then it can be implemented.”

The report found that 34.5% of FTSE 100 directorships were held by women but only 13.2% of executive directorships.

Severn Trent chief, Liv Garfield (pictured), said: “There’s always more we can do, especially in operational roles, and we’re always, always keen to support and develop our female engineers, whether they’ve joined us as apprentices, graduates or come from other companies.

63 of the FTSE 100 have achieved a December 2020 target of 33% female representation on their boards set by the business-led Hampton-Alexander Review.