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An increasing number of female directors are taking charge of British businesses and are apparently more likely to make those concerns profitable, according to research from information solutions company Experian.

Women now make up almost a quarter (23 per cent) of all directors in the UK, a slight increase of one quarter of a percentage point on the 2005 ratio. However, significantly, Walkerburn, in the heart of the Scottish Borders, is the first town in which female directors outnumber their male counterparts, by 22 to 18.

Women are more likely to run small or medium-sized businesses while large corporations are still mostly controlled by men, although women continue to make some progress in big business.

Female entrepreneurs are in fact slightly more likely to head up a profitable business, with 57.6 per cent of women directors involved in profit-making companies, compared to 56.1 per cent of men.

A possible good omen for the future of women in business is that women directors tend to be younger, with the proportion of 18-29 year-old female directors sitting at 27.8 per cent, higher than any other age bracket. The most male dominated age range is between 55 and 59.

‘Men may still dominate boardrooms across the UK, but women are continuing to redress the balance, and often control companies which are more profitable,’ comments Richard Lloyd, managing director of Experian’s Business Information division. ‘It’s refreshing to see that in some parts of Britain, women now outnumber their male counterparts in the boardroom. The glass ceiling may still be in place for the UK’s female directors, but the cracks we identified in last year’s research seem to be widening.’

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