Diageo named in the FTSE Women Leaders Review

The FTSE Women Leaders Review is the third iteration, previously the Hampton Alexander and Davies review, of the UK government’s backed report into progress on gender diversity across the FTSE 350.

For the second year running, Diageo has been named as the top company for female representation at board level with 60%. Beyond the Board, Diageo has 40.2% female representation across leadership, placing it in at 14^th position in the overall rankings and 2^nd within its sector. Both of these achievements surpass the targets set by the FTSE Women Leaders.

Today’s Review builds upon almost a decade of work which helped many of the UK’s biggest businesses achieve 33% female representation on Boards, Executive Committees, and their Direct Reports by 2021. This new iteration of the review refreshes that target to 40% by 2025.

We are proud to be included in this year’s FTSE Women Leaders Review and to be recognised for supporting strong female leaders in the business. But we are learning every day and we know there is more to do which is why we have set an ambition for our global leadership team to be 50% female and 45% ethnically diverse by 2030 as part of our Spirit of Progress ten-year action plan.

Alongside appointing women into more senior positions, we are working to improve the female talent pipeline by attracting entry level women into the drinks industry and STEM roles. A series of apprenticeships, returnships and scholarships have been put in place to help achieve this, and Diageo’s annual graduate intake now recruits 50% women.

Diageo has also recently been recognised as a leading company globally for gender equality by the 2022 Bloomberg Gender Equality Index. Over the past 12 months, we have launched Menopause Guidelines which offer enhanced support and flexibility to employees going through the menopause, as well as Gender Identity and Express Guidelines in over 20 countries.