News

Severn Trent has been named as one of the top performing companies for gender diversity and the number of women occupying senior leadership roles.

A report published today (Wednesday 13 November) has revealed that the Midlands based utility is among the top three companies in the FTSE 350 when it comes to women holding senior positions, including just under half of its board represented by women.

The Hampton-Alexander Review, which monitors the gender balance in more than 20,000 senior leadership positions in FTSE 350 companies, also ranked Severn Trent as the best performing utility, where the number of women being part of the board and the executive committee is well above the sector average.

Severn Trent recently announced that Christine Hodgson will be joining as its new Chair in April, becoming only the second ever FTSE 100 company to have a female chair and a female chief executive.

Liv Garfield, Severn Trent CEO said: “I’m incredibly proud that Severn Trent has been named as one of the best performing companies in the FTSE 350 when it comes to gender diversity at senior management and board level.

“In fact, it’s encouraging to see the progress that’s been made generally over the last 12 months across boardrooms up and down the country. However, the report is very clear that more could and should be done.”

Liv continued: “While we’re thrilled to be seen as playing our part, we can also do more to reflect our diverse workforce in our own boardroom.  Only recently, we announced the exciting news that Christine Hodgson will be joining us in April as our new Chair, reinforcing our commitment to being an inclusive and diverse organisation, at every level.

“Progress needs to continue if we are to achieve long-term gender balance.”

The Hampton-Alexander Review revealed that the FTSE 250 has had its strongest year yet for female appointments and if the same rate of progress continues next year, the FTSE 350 will be on track to meet the 33% Women on Boards target by the end of its 2020 deadline.