Research: For Women on Boards, Prestige Can Be a Bottleneck

Research on nearly 2,000 FTSE-100 board directors reveals a striking paradox: Women who reach elite board positions are on average more likely than men to receive additional appointments, but that advantage reverses at the most prominent firms, where prestige boosts men’s subsequent opportunities while reducing women’s. The gap is explained not by qualifications—women at the highest-profile firms tend to be more credentialed than their male peers—but by the disproportionate scrutiny, informal demands, and uneven expectations that women face in the most visible roles. Organizations that focus narrowly on representation metrics may be missing this dynamic entirely. To address it, boards should track progression and mobility rather than just appointment numbers, clarify role expectations, and ensure that prestigious assignments come with the sponsorship needed to convert visibility into real opportunity.