Expect a flurry of defensive reactions from major companies in the UK when the next “Women on Boards” progress report is issued. Or should we?
 
An update expected from Lord Davies will show that the representation of women on the boards of FTSE 100 companies is at a record high – currently 18 per cent of directors are women, up from 12.5 per cent in 2011, when his first "Women on Boards" report was published, according to the Independent newspaper.
 
There are now only six FTSE 100 companies with all-male boards, the newspaper reported, adding that Davies, who was commissioned by the government to undertake the project, believes the UK will meet a target of women making up 25 percent of board directors by 2015.
 
Non-FTSE companies also lack equal numbers of women board members.  

Some firms will choose to ignore the news while others -- such as Royal Mail, helmed by a woman chief executive -- will continue making it part of their overall workplace policy to hire women in key roles.
 
In 2010, Moya Greene became the first woman to head up Royal Mail Group Ltd. after serving as chief executive at the Canada Post Corporation. Before that, she held senior roles at Bombardier and TD Bank.
 
Green has spoken consistently about increasing the number of women in the workplace and backs the notion of recruitment quotas. “Unless you have quotas and live by them, you won't see change in this company or the country,” she told Britain’s Guardian newspaper last year.
 
Royal Mail actively recruits on merit and sees many talented women successfully appointed.
 
While the company offers internships and a graduate programme, it has many interesting roles for experienced candidates - especially those skilled in organisational transformation.