At FTSE 100 level, two-thirds did not have a woman in a top four executive role while research from Women on Boards uncovered that 19% did not meet the FCA target that women should represent at least 40% of the board.

However, among the 585 FTSE all-share listen companies, female representation on the board has risen from 36 percent to 40% over the past year, with the number of all-male boards halved to four.

Joanna Kori, Head of People for Encompass Corporation, commented: “While it's encouraging to see increased female representation at board level within UK businesses, there is still work to be done to improve this across senior levels. At Encompass, we are committed to proactively supporting women to thrive in leadership roles - board, executive, and management -and see great benefits from the diversity of voice and experience across all levels of our business. Being able to see, relate to, and learn from a range of role models is incredibly important when it comes to inspiring and encouraging others to progress and reach their goals, especially in industries such as technology, where there is also much to be done to address the gender balance. Women need to see it to know they can be it.

“Generally, it is important that women are open and proactive about making technology work for them and their lives in order to maintain a positive work-life balance. It is vital that organisations help staff to achieve this practically by implementing flexible working policies, providing support and education, and, crucially, offering progression opportunities to enable women to take up senior leadership positions and act as role models for the next generation.”

Meeting the FCA board representation target remained an issue among other FTSE firms, with 36% of FTSE 250 companies falling short, 41% of smaller listed FTSE companies falling below, and 73% of AIM-list organisations not meeting this target.

Fiona Hathorn, Chief Executive of Women on Boards, said: “Since we started these reports three years ago, we’re pleased with the progress made on women non-executive directors outside of the FTSE 350 [the FTSE 100 and 250 combined], but just having women in non-executive director roles is not sufficient to have an impact on the executive pipeline … We don’t have the women’s strong voice in the boardroom.”