Britain's FTSE 350 firms urged to appoint more women leaders

LONDON -- Britain's top companies were urged on Monday to keep up the pace to meet a target for women to hold 33 percent of senior leadership positions by 2020.

Currently 32.1 percent of FTSE 100 board positions are held by women, up from 12.5 percent in 2011. Meanwhile, in the FTSE 250, figures have jumped from 24.9 percent to 27.5 percent, the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy said in a press release.

Business Minister Kelly Tolhurst said that "These latest figures show there are now more women than ever before at the top of UK business ... Diversity makes good business sense and those who fail to see this as a priority are missing out on the benefits that diverse leadership brings."

A British government-backed independent review, launched in 2016, set FTSE 350 businesses a target of having a third of all board and senior leadership positions held by women by the end of 2020.

Figures show that if progress matches the same gains made over the last three years, then FTSE 100 companies are on track to meet the 2020 target.

Fourteen companies in the FTSE 350 were also named Monday in a new initiative to highlight those with one woman or less on their boards -- a sign showing there is still more work to do.