Using data from Companies House, we explore what female leadership looks like across the UK, focussing on how factors such as location, industry, and age come into play.
We’ll also look into what these numbers mean and whether they add up to reflect an improvement in female leadership representation.
UK cities with the most female leaders
- London has the highest number of female leaders, regardless of age, with 32,854.
- Manchester has the second greatest number of female leaders, with 3,269 – 90% less than London.
- Most leadership positions in London are held by those aged 18-25.
- Older demographics hold positions throughout the UK, whereas most younger leaders are concentrated in London.
Top 10 cities with the most female leaders
| London | 32,854 |
| Manchester | 3,269 |
| Birmingham | 2,516 |
| Bristol | 1,582 |
| Leeds | 1,548 |
| Nottingham | 1,539 |
| Leicester | 1,252 |
| Liverpool | 1,246 |
| Cardiff | 1,226 |
| Sheffield | 1,056 |
What age are our female leaders?
Women aged 31-40 hold the most leadership positions, with those aged 18-25 holding the fewest. The declining number of leadership positions held by women over 40 is likely to be explained by women leaving the workforce as they get older.
Number of female leadership positions by age
| 18-25 | 4240 |
| 25-30 | 13072 |
| 31-40 | 26615 |
| 41-50 | 20676 |
| 50+ | 17411 |
Industries with the most female leaders
- Many leadership positions were realised through entrepreneurship, showing that female enterprise and innovation are driving the quest for more female leadership representation in the UK.
- The real estate industry ranks first for female leaders, with a total of 19,984 positions being held.
- The retail & beauty industry also employs many female leaders, with 14,648.
- Accounting had the fewest female leaders of the 44 industries we explored – just 665.
Top 10 industries with the most female leaders
| Letting/operating of personal real estate | 8736 |
| Buying/selling of personal real estate | 7872 |
| Mail order & online retail | 6765 |
| Management or consultancy | 6709 |
| Business support services | 4530 |
| Other service activities | 3951 |
| Activities for holding companies | 3487 |
| Hairdressing and other beauty treatment | 3167 |
| Dormant company | 2997 |
| Health & Wellbeing | 2867 |
Compared to pre-COVID years 2018-2019, these numbers represent a resounding increase in female leadership positions. Letting and operating of real estate, for example – the industry with the most female leaders both pre- and post-COVID – has realised a 147% increase in female leadership positions.
Top 10 industries with the most female leaders in 2018-2019
| Letting and operating of own or leased real estate | 1340 |
| Buying and selling of own real estate | 1158 |
| Management consultancy activities other than financial management | 516 |
| Business support service activities | 455 |
| Retail sale via mail order houses or via internet | 311 |
| Service activities | 274 |
| Development of building projects | 237 |
| Hairdressing and other beauty treatment | 216 |
| Human health activities | 200 |
| Information technology consultancy activities | 180 |
Ultimately, this marks a positive and encouraging trend that illustrates a rapid increase in women’s leadership positions in the UK. And with so many industries and locations now filled with female leaders, the future looks incredibly bright for young women in the UK.
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