2028 before female representation at board level will reach 30%

Based on research into board composition, a new paper from MSCI states that it will take until 2028 before company boards are 30% women, up from 17.3% currently.

The research was carried out by Gaia Mazzucchelli, winner of the Rising Star of the Year Award at the London Women in Finance Awards 2017. It is based on data used by index provider MSCI and follows recent papers on women in finance, the gender pay gap and women on boards.

Looking at regional trends, the greatest gains in female representation occurred in emerging market countries, which started from a low base. There were notable gains in directorships held by women in Japan, Taiwan, India, Malaysia and China. From October 16, 2017, French, Italian and Norwegian companies in the MSCI ACWI Index have had a minimum of three female directors on their boards. Sweden, Belgium and Germany are also among the leaders for female representation, following mandatory minimum representation requirements. In terms of sectors, utilities and financials had the highest percentage of boards with at least three women on them.