Do the Most Prestigious Roles Always Open More Doors?

Why It Matters

If prestigious board seats hinder rather than help women’s career mobility, companies risk perpetuating gender gaps in leadership and miss the strategic benefits of diverse governance.

Key Takeaways

• Women gain more board seats after initial appointment, men do not
• Advantage reverses on highly prominent FTSE boards, hurting women
• Prominence brings scrutiny and informal demands disproportionately affecting women
• Gender diversity pressure increases women's board appointments at smaller firms
• Inequality stems from role experience, not just access to prestige

Summary

A new study of FTSE 100 board members reveals that prestigious roles do not automatically translate into broader career opportunities, especially for women.

Using longitudinal data on all directors of the UK’s largest companies, researchers found women are initially more likely than men to receive additional board appointments, reflecting strong gender‑diversity pressures. However, as a firm’s prominence rises, that advantage erodes and eventually reverses: men on high‑profile boards gain further appointments, while women become less likely to be tapped for new seats.

The authors rule out simple explanations such as competence bias or availability constraints. Instead, they point to the heightened scrutiny, risk exposure, and informal demands that accompany highly visible board positions, which disproportionately burden female directors.

The findings suggest that inequality at the top is shaped not only by who gets the coveted seats but also by how those seats function over time, prompting firms and policymakers to rethink support mechanisms for women in senior governance roles.

Original Description

In this video, Isabel Fernandez-Mateo, Professor of Strategy and Entrepreneurship at London Business School, shares research on what happens after reaching the boards of the UK’s largest companies.

Using data on FTSE 100 directors over several years, the study finds that women are, on average, more likely than men to receive additional board appointments. But as firm prominence increases, this advantage fades and eventually reverses. Men gain more opportunities from the most prominent boards, while women become less likely to receive new appointments.

The findings suggest that inequality at the top is not only about access to prestigious roles, but also how those roles work in practice and shape career progression over time.

Learn more about Isabel and her research:

https://www.london.edu/faculty-and-research/faculty-profiles/f/fernandezmateo-i

Read the full research paper:

https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/00018392251405843

Watch more videos in this research series:

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLwUU0JAv_JxjDMXeoeO1zfjkoYJi6Ij7J

#leadership #equality #gender #corporategovernance #strategy #research #LondonBusinessSchool