INvolve Analysis Finds: There are more FTSE 350 companies led by CEOs named Andrew or John than by women

      The imbalance in representation at the top of the UK's largest companies matters. CEOs shape the strategy, culture, and priorities of their organisations, yet this analysis shows that individuals holding these pivotal roles do not reflect the diversity of the workforces they lead or the customers they serve. As some businesses respond to a pushback on DEI commitments, it is a group of mainly white male decision-makers who determine whether progress for women — and especially women...

 

 

The imbalance in representation at the top of the UK's largest companies matters. CEOs shape the strategy, culture, and priorities of their organisations, yet this analysis shows that individuals holding these pivotal roles do not reflect the diversity of the workforces they lead or the customers they serve. As some businesses respond to a pushback on DEI commitments, it is a group of mainly white male decision-makers who determine whether progress for women — and especially women of colour — remains on the strategic agenda or stalls altogether. The dismantling of talent programmes and other support specifically targeted and tailored to under-represented demographics risks eroding tomorrow's diverse talent pipelines into leadership, resulting in gender representation going backwards in the coming years.

The release of INvolve's annual Heroes Role Model Lists, supported by YouTube, spotlights those women leaders and advocates who are actively working to stem the tide by driving inclusion for women in global business.

Suki Sandhu OBE, Founder and CEO of INvolve, said:

"The reality is that women, and especially women of colour, remain largely locked out of the most powerful executive seat in business, the CEO. CEOs set the strategic direction of companies and have ultimate decision-making power, yet too often the role is held by a narrow and unrepresentative group.

"This lack of gender diversity at the very top can shape how seriously organisations take equity, and whether actions to diversify tomorrow's talent pipelines to leadership are nurtured or dismantled. Given how slow progress has been towards gender parity, we cannot allow progress to be treated as optional or be reversed by those who currently hold power.

"The women celebrated in our Heroes Role Model Lists prove what's possible when businesses use their platforms to champion inclusion and build workplaces where women have a closer-to-equal chance to progress and succeed."

This year's top Heroes Role Models include:

Shirine Khoury-Haq, Group Chief Executive, The Co-operative Group
Dame Carolyn McCall, CEO, ITV
Arungalai Anbarasu, Executive Board Member and President of Körber Business Area Technologies, Körber AG
Filiz Öztürk, Board Member, OPET
Belinda Brown, CFO, Sephora UK

Dean Curtis, Chief Executive Officer, LexisNexis
David Hynam, Chief Executive, LV=
Sanjeev Chatrath, Non-Executive Board Advisor, Napier.AI
Nick Mackenzie, CEO, Greene King
Jon Holt, Group Chief Executive and UK Senior Partner, KPMG

Susanne Hogan, Operational Effectiveness Manager, Colt Technology Services
Stella Yam, Director, APAC Head of Transition Services, BlackRock
Taiwo Ade, User Experience Researcher, Etsy
Svetlana Stotskaya, Marketing and Brand Strategist
Elena Veale, Banker, J.P. Morgan Private Bank

The full Heroes Role Model Lists can be found here on Tuesday 23^rdSeptember 2025: https://heroes.involverolemodels.org.

Photo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2779588/INvolve_Heroes_Role_Model_Lists.jpg

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