The Glass Ceiling and Directors of Large Uk Quoted Companies

This study examines the situation of female directors in the top 100 UK quoted companies in the context of recent debates about occupational gender differences and the quality of corporate governance. Less than 2% of the executive directors in our sample are females and just under 9% of the non-executive directors are females. Female non-executive directors receive about two thirds the remuneration of male non-executive directors, irrespective of company size. Female executive directors receive lower salaries and lower benefits compared to male executive directors. Moreover, even after reaching board level, female directors appear to be disadvantaged in reaching the most authoritative and challenging positions. We also find some evidence that female non-executive directors are particularly underrepresented in some ‘traditional’ industries such as mining, chemicals, aerospace and defence, but have relatively better prospects (although still limited) of reaching board level in industries such as food and drug retailing, telecommunication services, banking and insurance. Finally, we suggest that further research is needed to indicate ways in which barriers to female promotion can be overcome; in particular, the importance of networking (and the related issue of interlocking directorships) needs to be more fully explained.