Better Boards, Better Outcomes: Why Progress in UK Boardrooms Must Accelerate

Rebecca McCredie, Director at Cavendish writes:

I recently listened to a webinar discussing the latest Gender Diversity in AIM Company Boards report, where our colleague and Head of Corporate Development, Emily Watts, joined the panel.

I came away with mixed feelings. There is progress. But it feels painfully slow.

Women now hold 16.8 percent of AIM board seats. That is roughly one in six. More than a third of AIM boards remain entirely male. And over 70 percent have no women in senior leadership roles, meaning no female CEO, CFO, Chair or Senior Independent Director.

At the current rate of change, the report suggests we will not reach 40 percent female representation until 2049.

That timeline is difficult to ignore.

The Talent Is There

One of the most striking points in the report is that this is not a pipeline issue. Seventy AIM companies already meet the 40 percent benchmark. The capability clearly exists.

If some companies are achieving this, it raises an obvious question. Why is broader progress so uneven?

The answer appears to lie in pace and priority. And perhaps in how board recruitment is approached, particularly within smaller listed businesses that tend to rely on familiar networks when making appointments. Change, in those circumstances, can be incremental.

But incremental change stretches timelines out by decades.

Beyond Optics

The report also makes a point that feels important. Diversity is not about optics or box-ticking. It is about cognitive range. Better challenge. Better debate. Better decisions. Ultimately, stronger governance.

Boards function best when they draw on a broader mix of perspectives and experiences. This is not simply a social objective. It is a governance and performance issue.

And in growth markets, where companies are scaling, navigating volatility and making strategic capital decisions, board effectiveness matters.

The Regulatory Contrast

The contrast with the FTSE 350 is striking.

Formal targets and reporting requirements have driven movement there. Transparency has created accountability, and accountability has created progress.

On AIM, with its lighter-touch framework, the same degree of momentum has not filtered through. Without structured targets or consistent disclosure pressure, progress has been uneven.

That does not mean improvement is impossible. It means it has not yet become embedded.

From Exception to Norm

There are strong examples of companies doing this well. Balanced boards. Women in key leadership roles. Clear intentionality around appointments.

But they remain exceptions.

As Emily said during the discussion, “Diversity brings about better outcomes.” The evidence increasingly supports that view. The question is whether change will accelerate, or whether we accept a trajectory that extends into the late 2040s.

Progress is visible. But pace matters.