Back in 2010 women made up only 12.5% of the boards of FTSE 100 companies, and the rate of increase was so slow that a report by the Equality and Human Rights Commission suggested that it would take more than 70 years to achieve gender-balanced boardrooms in the UK’s largest 100 companies. 

Since then, however, substantial progress has been made. Ten years, two Peer-led reviews, hundreds of column inches and one global pandemic later and the number now stands at 36.2%, with no all-male boards remaining in the FTSE 350. There is undoubtedly more to do, particularly in developing the cadre of female chairs, but the change is significant.