Shortage of women on NHS boards, report finds

A new report conducted by the University of Exeter Business School has stated that more senior roles need to be held by women if the NHS is to reach its target of equal gender representation on boards by 2020.

Women on NHS Boards: 5050 by 2020, argued that while gender balance of boards is improving, there is still a shortage of women in key roles such as medical directors and chief financial officers. 

The report is supported by NHS Employers and NHS Improvement, and provides the first, in-depth look at data relating to female representation on NHS boards and represents data collected from 452 trusts, clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) and arms-length bodies (ALBs). 

The report examined the representation of women across 452 organisations, including ALBs, NHS trusts, and clinical commissioning groups (CCGs). From the 245 NHS trusts and arms-length bodies that supplied data, the percentage of female chief executives is encouraging, at 42.6 per cent. However, women are still lagging behind in key roles with these organisations: just 26.3 per cent of finance directors, and 24.6 per cent of medical directors are women. 

Meanwhile, chief nurses, chief operating officers and human resources directors are mainly female within these organisations, at 85.4 per cent, 53.3 per cent and 63 per cent respectively. 

Professor Ruth Sealy, author of the report, explained: “There are lots of women working in the NHS – in fact, they make up 77 per cent of the workforce within the health service. But the fact that women are still underrepresented in key decision-making jobs, such as medical and finance directors, shows there is still work to be done.

“I am encouraged that in Devon three out of four NHS trusts have already reached the target for having at least fifty per cent of places on their boards occupied by women. They seem to be setting the pace. In many other parts of the country works need to be done if they are to meet the target of gender-balanced boards by the 2020 deadline.”

Ed Smith, chair of NHS Improvement, said:  “We make no apology for adopting the approach which Lord Davies took in his work on the FTSE 100 which is now being led by Sir Philip Hampton and Dame Helen Alexander. No apology – because his approach has led to substantial progress. Our approach and recommendations can do so as well if they are embraced by the leaders of systems and of individual organisations across the NHS.”

Danny Mortimer said: “Big strides have been made in this area, but the report highlights there is much work to be done. At a time when the NHS is experiencing a myriad of challenges, it is vital we make full use of the wealth of talent at our disposal, not just some of it. Research has shown time and time again that diversity improves the quality of decision making, improves outcomes and ultimately improves the well-being of staff.

“If staff feel motivated and productive then this has to be good news for patients. The number of female directors of nursing more accurately reflects the gender composition of the workforce and we must replicate this across the whole system.”