Nearly 40% of all board positions in the FTSE 100 are now held by women, up from just 12.5% a decade ago. The figures also show that the UK is now in second place in the international rankings, behind only France, when it comes to boardroom roles.

Despite great strides having been made in gender diversity, there are still huge discrepancies across the business world, with just eight of the FTSE 100 companies currently having a female CEO.

Kate Palmer, HR Advice & Consultancy Director at Peninsula, says: “It’s great to see the number of women in director roles climbing. I hope to see this continue until we have complete equality.

“Diversity and inclusion initiatives are imperative when it comes to ensuring the fair and equal treatment of all employees and closing the opportunity gaps for people from underrepresented groups.

“Gender pay gap reporting is mandated for businesses with over 250 staff. It’s a great way for employers to evaluate the number of female employees and, when combined with ethnicity pay gap reporting (not yet a legal requirement), of taking a proactive step towards equality for all employees, especially those from underrepresented groups.

“It’s also important for businesses to consider wider approaches to encouraging workplace inclusion, for example, introducing diversity and unconscious bias training for managers and communicating a clear zero-tolerance approach to any form of bullying, discrimination or harassment in the workplace.

“Ultimately, this will enhance the working environment and provide a well-rounded workforce which businesses can leverage to optimise success.

“Today is International Women’s Day, so it’s important to note that equality is not just about employing more women to positions of authority, it’s also about enacting change to help better support all female employees.

“Very few employers have policies that protect employees against gender specific medical issues such as menopause or endometriosis. Yet an estimated 1 million women in the UK will leave the workplace every year due to lack of menopause support, and a further one in six women with endometriosis – that’s around a quarter of a million – will give up work too.

“Failing to provide reasonable adjustments could see employers fall short of disability legislation, and potentially lead to claims of constructive dismissal. Showing that you are an employer who understands the issues affecting your female employees will help with both retention and recruitment.

“Traditional recruitment methods are simply not enough to support genuine diversity and inclusion within organisations. Instead, businesses should proactively consider ways they can support individuals from underrepresented groups, both internally and externally.

“Examples of such positive action can include:

Putting statements in job adverts to encourage applications from under-represented groups, such as “we welcome female applicants”
Offering training to help certain groups get opportunities or progress at work
Offering mentoring to groups with specific needs
Hosting open days specifically for under-represented groups, encouraging them to get into a particular field
“Today is a day to celebrate how far we have come, recognise the achievements of so many incredible women and look at the steps we can take to make things better in the future. There is still work to be done if we are to achieve true equality.”