Taking the Mickey...men called Michael outnumber women chairing FTSE firms

THERE are more men called Michael chairing Britain’s largest companies than there are women in similar posts, an analysis by The Mail on Sunday has found.

Just five companies in the FTSE 100 have female chairs, compared with seven whose boards are run by men named Michael, Mike or Micky.

The fact that just six of the FTSE 100 have female chief executives has been widely bemoaned. But our research shows there are even fewer women chairing such businesses.

Rachel Reeves, the chair of Parliament’s Business Select Committee, said: ‘These findings are deeply depressing but hardly come as a surprise given the ingrained culture of inequality at too many of our leading companies. It is time they joined the 21st Century and tackled the woeful under-representation of women.

‘A firm’s culture is driven from the top. More female chairs would be an important catalyst to ensuring a greater number of female CEOs and increased diversity at all levels.’

Three FTSE 100 boards are chaired by men named Michael – Michael Dobson of asset management giant Schroders; Michael McLintock of Associated British Foods; and Michael Roney of retailer Next. Three chairs are known as Mike – Mike Biggs of insurer Direct Line; Mike Evans of food delivery firm Just Eat; and Mike Rogers of data giant Experian.

The seventh Michael is Micky Arison, the US-based chairman of global cruise ship giant Carnival.

The women chairing FTSE100 boards are Anita Frew of chemicals firm Croda; Annette Court of insurer Admiral; Cressida Hogg of property investor Land Securities; Deanna Oppenheimer of investment supermarket Hargreaves Lansdown; and Fiona McBain of the Scottish Mortgage Investment Trust. The Hampton-Alexander Review, set up to promote gender diversity and led by GlaxoSmithKline’s chairman Sir Philip Hampton, is pushing companies in the FTSE 100 and FTSE 250 to have at least a third of board positions held by women by next year.

Influential lobby group the 30% Club, founded by financier Dame Helena Morrissey, has also been campaigning for more gender diversity in boardrooms.

A recent Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development report found there are only six female CEOs at FTSE100 firms – while there are seven Stephens, Stevens or Steves.

Dame Helena said: ‘We have so much work to do if we want to aim for gender balance at the top of our companies.’ Hamish McRae is away