KENTWOMENINBUSINESS
THE 2025
KENT WOMEN
in BUSINESS SPECIAL FEATURE
It seems absurd that in 2025 the outdated idea that women are the ‘ fairer sex ’ - all grouped together and tarred with a brush that presumes nothing but gentleness and a sole desire to populate the Earth – still lingers in the air like a bad smell . And yet it does . Not least in the realms of business .
In recent years ( decades to be more accurate ), although some steps have been made towards addressing the repeated calls for greater gender equality and the drastic need to close the gender pay gap , there is still a fundamental lack of women in leadership roles . As of the end of 2024 , men held 90 % of CEO positions in the UK ’ s FTSE 100 companies , with only 10 % occupied by women . That said , this is up 8 % for women when compared to the figures collated from the year before , which does reflect a gradual increase in female representation . While progress is being made , the majority of top leadership roles in Britain ’ s largest public companies remain dominated by men .
As of October 2024 , women held 9 % of CEO positions in FTSE 350 companies , a figure that remained unchanged from the previous year - this stability in female CEO representation contrasts with a slight decline in the overall proportion of women in executive roles within these companies , which decreased from 33 % in 2023 to 32 % in 2024 . Additionally , in 2024 , UK retailers appointed six female chief executives , accounting for approximately 27 % of the 22 total CEO appointments that year , which represents a 50 % decrease from the previous year , when 13 women were appointed as retail CEOs .
Nationally , it ’ s clear the progress towards gender equality in business is both slow and absolutely not linear , and the reality is that many brilliant women are still getting overlooked . The stats aren ’ t overwhelmingly exciting , but they ’ re also not as dire as they could be , and when ( not if ) more women become CEOs ( which they will ) it is more likely that there will be women appointed to other roles in the upper echelons of not only those FTSE 350 companies , but across our entire society , too .
Research shows a direct correlation between companies with more female executives heading up proceedings and bigger share price gains , stronger revenue growth and higher profits . Women executives therefore are not only proving to be driven , resilient and self-motivated , but they also drive impressive business results .
Which comes as no surprise ; women are incredibly capable , strong , powerful people , so let ’ s normalise that … Welcome to insideKENT ’ s Kent Women in Business special feature . Read on to hear tips , advice and success stories from some of the county ’ s most inspirational female businesspeople . www . insidekent . co . uk • 187