Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
1. What is the Women Business Leaders Review?
The Women Business Leaders Review (the Review) is an independent review body, supported by Government, which builds on the excellent work of its predecessors, the Davies Review, Hampton-Alexander Review and the FTSE Women Leaders Review, to increase the number of women on FTSE 350 & the UK’s Largest Private Company boards, with an important additional focus to improve women’s representation in senior leadership positions. Find out more and view previous reports at www.womenbusinessleaders.com.
2. Who Chairs the Review?
This phase of the Review is Chaired by Penny James, Portfolio Non-executive director.
3. Who runs the Review and how does it operate?
The Review team is led by the Chief Executive, Vivienne Artz on a day-to-day basis. The team comprises of corporate sponsor (KPMG) and other business representatives, with the Government providing support and policy guidance and data analysis from the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade, and further policy guidance from the Office for Equality & Opportunity.
The Review is governed by a Steering Group made up of experienced business members, and an Advisory Panel of relevant business organisations that meets periodically.
Key dates of the Review
4. What are the Recommendations for the Review?
The Recommendation of the Women Business Leaders Review builds on the recommendations and progress of preceding Reviews. They are as follows:
- 40% gender balance. The Review recommendation is a balance of 40%-60% of either gender for boards and leadership. This provides a pragmatic balance which can be achieved when boards and leadership teams are made up of uneven and also small numbers.
- Focus on women in executive roles. On boards, parity has been achieved for non-executive director roles, but progress on executive director roles has been much slower. In leadership, the focus on P&L roles is important to strengthen the pipeline to the most impactful leadership roles, particularly CEO.
- Four Key Roles. While progress to parity for the Senior Independent Director role has been achieved, the progress on Chair, CEO and Finance Director has been considerably slower and will require sustained focus to increase representation in these roles. Currently, the vast majority of firms have just one woman in a key role, falling short of the recommended two women in key roles (i.e. Chair/SID and CEO/FD).
5. How did you determine the list of Private Companies?
The Women Business Leaders Review has determined the criteria for the Largest Private Companies to be those companies that have an annual turnover in excess of £1 billion and/or an employee workforce in excess of 4,000 employees. In addition, the company needs to be headquartered in the UK, with neither the company, nor the parent organisation listed on any UK or overseas stock exchange. The company may also make a significant contribution to UK business and the economy and/or have a significant UK consumer profile. The Review is expanding the number of the Largest Private Companies from 50 to 100 as one of the Recommendations.
6. Why is the criteria for the in-scope private companies different than for companies under the FTSE?
The constituent list of companies in the FTSE 350 index is determined by the size of market capital and other considerations, and is updated quarterly by the London Stock Exchange. There is no such equivalent list for private companies in the UK. The criteria applied to determine the Largest Private Companies list ensures that those companies included in the extended scope reflect those which have a significant role to play in UK Business.
7. When will the next report be published?
This year’s report will be made public in February 2027.
8. Is this the same as the new Gender Pay Gap (GPG) reporting requirements?
No, this is an entirely separate, voluntary request made by the independent Women Business Leaders Review, supported by the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade, and the Office for Equality and Opportunity. Together we request FTSE 350 companies and the 50 Largest Private Companies to submit data on the gender representation on the Board, Executive Committee and Direct Reports to the Executive Committee.
Mandatory GPG reporting https://genderpaygap.campaign.gov.uk/ is a legislative requirement that came into force in April 2017 requiring employers with 250 employees or more, to publish a range of Gender Pay Gap information by 30 March for the public sector and 4 April for the private and voluntary sector.
Analysis of FTSE companies’ gender pay gap reports, shows there is a significant gap in the earnings opportunity of men and women, largely as a result of too few women in higher paid executive or leadership roles and too many women occupying lower paid and lower grade roles.
The Women Business Leaders Review’s primary purpose is to increase the representation of women on boards and in executive and leadership roles, ensuring equal opportunity for both men and women and as such significantly contributing to closing the gender pay gap.
9. Is this the same as the FCA Listing Rules reporting requirements?
No, this is an entirely separate, voluntary request made by the independent Women Business Leaders Review, supported by the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade, and the Office for Equality and Opportunity. Together we request FTSE 350 companies and the 50 Largest Private Companies submit data on the gender representation on the Board, Executive Committee and Direct Reports to the Executive Committee.
In April 2022, the FCA finalised rules requiring listed companies to report information and disclose against targets on the representation of women and ethnic minorities on their boards and executive management, making it easier for investors to see the diversity of their senior leadership teams. The rules will apply to listed companies for financial accounting periods starting from 1 April 2022.
The FCA’s approach sets positive diversity targets for listed companies. If they cannot meet them, they need to explain why not. This approach allows flexibility for smaller firms or those based overseas. The rules also allow companies to decide how best to collect data from employees to show they are meeting the targets.
The Women Business Leaders Review’s primary purpose is to increase the representation of women on boards and in executive and leadership roles, ensuring equal opportunity for both men and women.
Contact Us
If you have any further questions please contact the Women Business Leaders Review team at info@womenbusinessleaders.co.uk
FAQs updated September 2026.
