Number of female CEOs at FTSE companies in the UK 2016-2022

As of 2022, there were 21 women chief executive officers (CEOs) at FTSE 100 and FTSE 250 companies in the UK, with nine at FTSE 100 companies, and 12 at FTSE 250 ones. This was the highest number of female CEOs during the provided time period, with just twelve female CEOs at FTSE companies as recently as 2018. 

UK's gender pay gap still an issue

In 2023, the difference between men and women’s median full-time hourly earnings amounted to 7.7 percent. By comparison, the gender pay gap in 2006 was 12.8 percent, indicating that some progress has been made to address the problem. Some age groups have a significantly larger gender pay gap than others, however. For those over 60, the gender pay was 14.2 percent, with gaps of 11.2 and 10.3 percent for workers in their 50s and 40s respectively. Additionally, the gender pay gap varies by industry, with a 27.9 percent pay gap in the finance sector, compared with 3.6 percent in accommodation and food services. 

Attitudes to gender equality

As of February 2024, around 44 percent of women in Great Britain thought that more should be done to achieve equal pay, with just 26 percent believing that this had already been achieved. A larger share of women were in agreement that household responsibilities were not being shared equally, however, at 73 percent of British women. An even larger majority of women thought that more should be done to address sexual misconduct in Britain, with 82 percent of women feeling this way.