Severn Trent has been named as one of the top performing companies in the FTSE100 for female representation at the highest level.
The FTSE Women Leaders Report, reviews gender balance across UK private businesses, shows that Severn Trent is joint second on female representation on the board, and 12th overall in leadership.
It highlights that 45.8% of women hold senior leadership positions across the business.
Severn Trent was also the first FTSE company with a female chair, CEO and CFO, and is now one of only two listed on the stock exchange.
Female representation has grown across British businesses, and since the start of the review there’s been a huge shift in gender balance from 9.5% FTSE 350 board members, to 43% today.
Liv Garfield, Severn Trent CEO said:
“It’s really encouraging to see the continued progress made at Severn Trent and in boardrooms up and down the country when it comes to making sure women are represented at the highest level.
“Even though we were the first FTSE 100 company to have a female chair, CEO and CFO, we know there’s always more progress to be made when it comes to making sure both women and men are fairly represented not only at the highest level, but throughout our business.”
Liv added: “Diverse companies are generally better performing, so creating a level-playing field and being accessible for all and is the right thing to do, not just for our people, but for our customers too.”
Severn Trent introduced a leading maternity policy last year, that offers up to a full year paid maternity leave, and provides menopause training for women, and their managers to support them throughout their careers. It also offers imposter syndrome training, where it’s thought that women experience this more than men, so helps women build confidence and potential remove barriers of working.
Since 2021, initiatives like this have seen Severn Trent welcome 500 more women into the business and have women heading up its operational and technology teams at executive level. Encouraging gender balance and diversity throughout the business.
