Companies across the East Midlands are being urged to strengthen female leadership after new research from De Montfort University Leicester (DMU) revealed that almost half of the region’s top firms have no women at board level.

A new report by Dr Marian Chijoke-Mgbame, Senior Lecturer and Institute Head of Research Students in the School of Accounting, Finance and Economics DMU, examined the top 500 companies in the East Midlands and found that, on average, women make up just 19 per cent of board members, and that female representation in the top leadership roles is even lower.

The East Midlands Top 500 Female Board Report looked at the board make up of 493 of the region’s highest-turnover companies across sectors including manufacturing, retail, construction, automotive and business services.

Read more at: https://www.dmu.ac.uk/about-dmu/news/2026/july/east-midlands-must-tackle-boardroom-gender-gap-according-to-dmu-study.aspx