South East is among top regions for women-led companies
Almost half of all companies in the South East have a female director on the board, according to new research from Creditsafe.
The Women in Business report indicates that out of 677,000 firms in the region, forty-percent boast female representation at the directorial level.
It was the South West that scored the highest, with 44% of its 120,000 companies having women in directorial positions. The East Midlands and Scotland followed closely, with 39% of their companies featuring female directors.
Despite these encouraging numbers, the report suggests there is still a considerable gap in achieving gender equality in business leadership in these regions.
At the other end of the table, London and the North West have the lowest rate of female representation, at 33% and 36% of companies including a female director.
The report also shows that male-owned businesses were more likely to go into insolvency in 2023 than those run by females, with 39% of companies more likely to become insolvent if their boards were male-dominated.
The number of companies which also have a female director on the board in the UK increased by 7% in 2023 compared to 2019. While the number of female directors had been steadily rising over the years, peaking in 2022, there was a slight decline in 2023.
Drew Fahiya, Creditsafe’s data director, points out that men might simply gravitate towards more risky business sectors:
“Our latest report shows that women are making steady progress in the boardroom, and in some regions and sectors they are starting to build up a real momentum.
“The South West is setting a benchmark in female entrepreneurship, but other regions, including the South East, are beginning to showcase the significant impact women have on British business at various levels.”
Drew added: “Though it’s not possible to prove that women are better at running businesses over men, there’s mounting evidence suggesting that companies with female board members experience advantages such as heightened profitability and reduced failure rates”.
