In 2021 women account for just 5% of chief executive positions in FTSE 350 companies and gender parity is further out of reach, a new report finds.

Despite increased awareness of the universal benefit of females holding senior financial roles, the Women Count report for 2021 carried out by The Pipeline found that, while women are in a better position in the business world than five years ago, the Covid-19 pandemic slowed the rate of change.

Women now make up 22% of all executive committee roles, an increase of 2.5% on the previous year but down from the 2.7% rise seen in 2020.

Based on this slowdown, Women Count 2021 predicts that gender parity will not now be achieved on executive committees until 2036, four year’s later than estimated in 2020.

The study also found that 70% of FTSE 350 company boards never sit down with a senior female executive at a board meeting, which it says undermines the very concept of ‘unitary boards’.

Only 10% of companies are holding out against having a single woman on their executive committee, an improvement of 5% on 2020. But, just 4% of companies have broken through the 50% mark, showing the size of the challenge for women.

Aviva group chief executive Amanda Blanc says: “Diverse organisations have a better bottom line. They are more productive, more profitable and more resilient because diversity brings in new perspectives and means our businesses better represent the people we serve. They are better for employees, better for customers, better for communities and better for the economy. We know this. Yet across the board, companies are still falling woefully short of reaping the benefits.

“When it comes to gender diversity at the top of organisations, this Women Count 2021 once again underlines the extent of the work that is still needed to move beyond talking about a familiar problem and taking the concerted, collaborative actions that are needed to solve it.”