Is the glass ceiling in Britain finally beginning to crack ? A new report on the gender makeup of FTSE 100 ( the top 100 firms listed on the London Stock Exchange ) company boardrooms suggests that just might be the case -- but not all the experts are convinced . Women now account for 20.7 % of FTSE 100 executive board members , an increase of 12.5 % since 2011 , according to The Cranfield School of Management 's Female FTSE Board report released Wednesday . Lord Davies , a former UK trade minister who has been tasked with improving gender equality in Britain 's boardrooms , described the findings as `` impressive '' but only part of the journey toward gender fairness at the top of the country 's leading firms . `` We are finally seeing a culture change taking place at the heart of British business , '' Davies said . Real progress ? There are now only two members of the FTSE 100 -- copper mining company Antofagasta and natural resources group Glencore Xstrata -- with no female board representation , compared to one company in five in 2011 . At the other end of the spectrum , drinks firm Diageo and business process outsourcing company Capita , are setting the pace with 44.4 % female representation on their boards . Britain has set itself a target of having women make up 25 % of FTSE 100 board members by 2015 . This objective will be met with a further 48 appointments of women to boardroom positions within FTSE 100 companies in the next year . But while these headline figures may cast Britain 's progress on this issue in an impressive light , a closer inspection reveals a far more complex picture . According to the Cranfield study , there are 48 companies in the FTSE 250 ( which lists the 101st to 350th largest firms on the London Stock Exchange ) with no female board representation . Many of the new boardroom positions taken up by female FTSE 100 directors in recent years , meanwhile , are non-executive positions which do not form part of the executive management team and where power and influence is limited . `` Over the past year there were 52 new female appointments to FTSE 100 boards -- representing 27 % of all appointments , '' said professor Susan Vinnicombe , one of the report 's authors . `` Of these , only five were executive director positions and the remaining 47 were non-executive Directorships . '' Europe 's leaders . The British government has looked to pressure publicly limited companies into addressing the issue of female board representation in recent years without legislating on the matter . Other European nations , however , have introduced legally binding quota systems to help ensure female representation is guaranteed on the boards of leading publicly listed companies . The likes of the Netherlands , France and Spain have all regulated to varying extents in recent years , witnessing an improvement in female representation at non-executive boardroom level as a result . Overall there are eight nations within the EU -- including France ( 26.8 % ) and the Netherlands ( 23.6 % ) -- that have a greater number of women at boardroom level than the UK , according to figures on board representation gathered by the European Commission last year . Outside the EU , Norway was the first country to introduce boardroom gender quotas in 2006 and can now count as many as 40.5 % of executives in public limited companies as female , according to Statistics Norway . But in all of these countries , as in Britain , women are still more likely to occupy non-executive roles as opposed to executive director roles . 'It takes time ' Elena Doldor , co-author of the Cranfield study , says pressure must be brought to bear on firms to encourage them to genuinely foster female talent rather than just perform a gender box ticking exercise . `` In order to close this gap and generate a sustainable talent pool , companies must invest more effort in developing the pipeline of female talent , '' Doldor said . Others , such as Sibylle Rupprecht , executive director for Catalyst Europe , an organization that promotes women in business , suggest that all change is good change even if it does n't have the desired impact straight away . `` Our research has actually shown that if you have three women on the board ( in non-executive positions ) this translates over a period of four to five years into 21 % more women in executive positions . `` The executive positions are appointed by the board or at least approved by the board . If you have more women on the board then you will have a more diverse executive thought , '' she added . `` There is a correlation but it takes a bit of time . '' See also : What can the Romans teach business leaders . See also : Bill Gates in his own words . Interactive : Top tips from the world 's leading bosses .
A new report shows women account for a fifth of FTSE 100 board members . Lord Davies : `` Culture change taking place at the heart of British business '' Critics say the figures mask reality as many of the roles are non-executive positions .