1^st March 2021: As International Women’s Day nears, a new investigation has revealed that the UK’s largest technology companies have more than twice (2.5 times) the number of female leaders at the helm than FTSE 350 enterprises.

• Panintelligence investigation finds just 4% of FTSE 350 companies have a female CEO compared to 9% of the largest UK tech companies,
• 9% of UK SaaS companies have a female CEO,
• 8.5% of US tech companies are led by a female CEO

Ahead of the global event on the 8^th of March, analysis from data analytics and business intelligence (BI) software developer, Panintelligence, shows that 9% (33) of tech companies in Britain are currently led by a female CEO, compared to just 4% (13) of the FTSE 350. When it comes to UK SaaS companies specifically, 9% (33) have a female CEO.

Meanwhile, in the US, 8.5% (30) of the largest tech companies have a female CEO, showing the situation is similar on the other side of the Atlantic. Despite the UK tech sector leading the way in female leadership Zandra Moore, CEO of Panintelligence, says more work must be done to further address this gender imbalance.

“While it’s important to recognise that these figures show the technology sector is leading the way in female leadership, it’s clear that more must be done to both increase the percentage in our own industry and within the wider business community as well. Events such as International Women’s Day continue to shine a light on the capabilities of women, everywhere, and must continue to do so.

“When trying to climb the corporate ladder women often still face a number of challenges; such as gender bias, inequality, a lack of support from their male counterparts, outdated workplace cultures and even negative mindsets and thoughts. Even family choices, such as wanting to start a family, can hinder womens’ progress in reaching top leadership positions.

“If men and women don’t work together more effectively to raise awareness and tackle these issues, then the gender gap may exist for some time to come – yet studies have shown that companies with gender diversity in leadership outperform their less diverse peers. Committing to diversity targets, creating female talent networks, implementing flexible working models or restructuring recruitment processes are all ways in which businesses can encourage gender diversity in boardrooms.”

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