Why has women’s progress in executive roles gone backwards?

Why has women’s progress in executive roles gone backwards?

By Jo Faragher on 27 August 2025

For many employers, there’s a sense that gender diversity is ‘done’. They report their gender pay gaps and act to reduce them and have progressive policies in place around flexible working and families. But are businesses continuing to make progress?

According to the Women Count report from The Pipeline, fewer than one in 10 CEOs in the FTSE 350 in 2024 were women. Furthermore, the number of women on executive committees in these companies fell (from 33% to 32%) for the first time in eight years. Another survey, by headhunting firm Heidrick & Struggles, found that the number of new appointees to board positions in 2024 fell to 50%, and only one in six board positions in companies listed on the Alternative Investment Market were held by women.

There’s no doubt that gender equality has also been a victim of the wider backlash against DEI. A survey taken in March 2024 found that 47% of Britons think that giving women equal rights “has gone far enough”, up from 38% the previous year. “To put it frankly, we’re seeing the consequences of complacency. Some business leaders believe that gender equality has gone far enough but the reality is far from that,” says Professor Geeta Nargund, chair of The Pipeline. “The recent stagnation suggests we’re not just stalling but regressing, a serious wake-up call for business leaders across all sectors, especially as data consistently shows that greater gender representation in leadership correlates with higher business performance and profits. Combine this with the growing rollback of DEI agendas in America – and their infectious influence on UK boardrooms – progress both socially and economically remains firmly at risk.”

Professor Nargund believes that these shifts in attitude have a broader impact, too. “The rollback of DEI commitments threatens to widen the leadership gap further, undermining societal, economic, and business progress, and directly harming women’s opportunities,” she adds. “Over recent months, several high-profile businesses have quietly toned down or even loudly scrapped their DEI commitments. For today’s female leaders, this could mean less institutional support; and for tomorrow’s, it means fewer role models, fewer training opportunities, and slower career progression. In some industries, we’re even seeing the unwelcome return of all-male shortlists, reminding us of the fragility and reversibility of progress. Practices like these overlook the reality that barriers for women are still firmly in place, and without consistent, proactive effort, those barriers will continue to hold back female talent – at every stage of their careers.”

Culture over policy

Moving company John Mason International has recently been named one of the UK’s best workplaces for women. Co-owner Rebekah Hood says that supporting women’s careers involves fostering a culture where all employees feel valued and supported – not just publishing workplace policies. “This can’t be imposed from the top down; it requires team engagement and understanding of each other’s working styles and key skills,” she says. “Leaders should provide space for team development, not in an overbearing manner. This is something that takes time, like with any relationship outside work.”

Simple things like recognising working patterns do not need to follow stringent or traditional nine-to-five schedules, or minimising everyday stresses for parents can help the organisation to be a “support network” where women can progress. She adds: “Hiring on merit is also crucial. Regardless of commitments, everyone should have the opportunity to shine and reach senior positions. Employers should support potential, not choose the easier route, and ensuring everyone has the right adjustments and flexibility to do so is straightforward for an employer but means the world to staff looking to make their mark.”

Professor Nargund agrees that simply talking about future intentions and equality is not enough – companies need to deliver on these commitments. “Companies need policies that genuinely support and develop female talent at every career stage, including targeted leadership training, sponsorship programmes, and formal mentoring,” she adds. “Workplaces must also not be ignorant to the specific challenges women face in their careers and address them with real structural changes. Ultimately, change must come from the top: when senior leaders lead by example and make inclusivity and diversity a visible priority, it sends a powerful message which trickles down across the organisation and creates a culture where women can thrive.”

Different networking styles

Eric Quintane, associate professor of organizational behaviour at ESMT Berlin, a business school, believes that employers should step up to offer women more supportive networks, as these play a crucial role in career progression. “Our research shows that women tend to recall social networks more accurately than men, especially in cohesive networks where many colleagues are closely connected. This is an important skill because seeing the social landscape clearly helps with collaboration and influence,” he explains. “However, women lose this advantage in less cohesive networks that contain many ‘structural holes’- gaps between groups that create opportunities for brokerage and power. These more open, competitive networks are often where the opportunities for career development reside.”

He adds: “Senior career opportunities often emerge in open, cross-silo networks, but women are typically socialised and positioned into denser, more cohesive networks. Companies can help by deliberately creating cross-departmental projects and sponsorship opportunities that position women in brokerage roles where they gain exposure to these structures. Second, managers should be trained to make these invisible dynamics visible. Helping women identify structural holes and opportunities to bridge groups can equip them to translate their networking strengths into career progress.”

To support female career progression, businesses should not expect women to “network like men”, he suggests. Instead, businesses should reward different networking styles and women’s contributions in “less cohesive, cross-boundary settings”, reducing the structural disadvantages women face and enabling “more equitable progress into senior roles”.

Fragile pipeline

Debbie Bayntun-Lees, professor of leadership and organisational development at Hult International Business School, argues that the fall in female representation on FTSE 350 companies is a “stark reminder” that boardroom gender diversity progress has not been mirrored in real power structures. “While non-executive roles have diversified, the executive pipeline remains fragile, especially for women leading core business functions. Without structural accountability and investment in the mid-career female talent pipeline, representation gains will continue to stagnate or reverse,” she explains.

She believes there have been a number of factors involved in the decline, including the impact of the pandemic (when women were “disproportionately sidelined” in some sectors); economic uncertainty leading to some businesses reverting to “safe” leadership profiles, which are typically male or from the finance sector; the growing backlash or fatigue; and siloed roles (women end up channelled into HR, ESG or legal roles, which are less likely to be a route to CEO).

Professor Bayntun-Lees also has concerns that a decline in female representation at executive level carries risks beyond gender equity. She adds: “It undermines stakeholder trust in companies’ diversity and inclusion commitments, suggesting that progress is more symbolic than structural. It also threatens business performance: extensive research consistently shows that diverse leadership teams deliver stronger innovation and financial outcomes.”

Rolling back progress on female representation also sends discouraging signals to younger women entering the workforce, potentially weakening the pipeline of future female leaders. More widely, it risks setbacks in ESG and sustainability objectives, areas where women leaders have often played pivotal roles in driving long-term change, she concludes.