DLA Piper recognised in FTSE Women Leaders Top 10 for women on Boards

DLA Piper has been ranked as the fifth highest performing organisation in the ‘Top 50 Private Companies’ category of women on Boards in the 2024 FTSE Women Leaders Review.

The FTSE Women Leaders Review is an independent, business-led framework supported by the UK Government, that sets recommendations to improve the representation of women on the Boards and Leadership teams of the FTSE 350 and 50 of the UK’s largest private companies. Created in 2011 when just 9% were women on Boards in the top 350 FTSE companies, the Review’s latest data shows that this figure has risen to 40%. 

The initiative has four recommendations:

• Setting a voluntary target for FTSE 350 Boards and Leadership teams to a minimum of 40% women’s representation by the end of 2025.
• FTSE 350 companies should have at least one woman in one of the following roles; Chair, Senior Independent Director, Chief Executive Officer and/or Finance Director by the end of 2025.
• Key stakeholders should continue to set best-practice guidelines or use alternative mechanisms to encourage any FTSE 350 Board that has not yet achieved the previous 33% target of boards and leadership to be comprised of women by the end of 2020, to do so.
• The scope of the Review is extended to include 50 of the largest private companies in the UK.

While the percentage of women on Boards in 2023 has progressed, overall there has been a slight decline of 0.8% within the Top 50 Private Companies. Despite this, we have exceeded the target with over 40% of current appointments to DLA Piper’s International Board being female, demonstrating the firm’s commitment to DEI.

Jon Hayes, Global Co-Chair at DLA Piper commented: “Diversity and inclusion are key pillars within our firm’s strategy, and it is only right that our efforts start at the top of the firm. Today’s ranking is a clear sign of our commitment, and we recognise there is still a long way to go across the breadth of our firm and no room for complacency at any level. We are grateful for the many opportunities to collaborate with our clients and enable their and our people and communities to belong and thrive.”