The last remaining woman-free board on the FTSE 100 looks set to finally get a member of the opposite sex, with Glencore Xstrata expected to hire its first female director within weeks.
According to the Sunday Times, the mining company is expected to make the appointment after its chief executive, Ivan Glasenberg, revealed he’s narrowed down a list of suitable female candidates following months of searching for the right woman.
Such an appointment would see all 100 companies in the FTSE 100 with at least one woman on their boards for the first time.
That will come in stark contrast to the ASX 200, in which Company Directors data finds 40 companies still do not have a single women on their boards — although the figure is much lower in the ASX 100, according to Women on Boards.
Just over 12 months ago, the Financial Times found seven boards on the FTSE 100 were still male only.
As the last remaining all-male board on the FTSE 100, Glencore has been under considerable pressure to make a female appointment, with UK business secretary Vince Cable publicly calling on the company to “rectify” the situation.
The company has previously stated it values diversity in its business, telling the Financial Times: “The appointment of a female board member is a significant consideration and our nominations committee is working to identify the right female candidates.”
Helena Morrissey, a long time promoter of women on boards as founder of the 30% Club, on top of her role as chief executive of Newton Investment Management, told The Sunday Times the end of all-male boards on the FTSE 100 would be, “testament to the huge progress made in recent years” and the fact that single-gender boards simply do not make business sense.