Chairmen of top companies are definitely changing their attitudes when it comes to considering women for boardroom positions since the publication in February of Lord Davies’ ’Women on Boards’ report, according to executive search firms.

Following an event in London this month, launching a six-month review of the report, Kit Bingham, partner and head of the chair & non-executive director practice at Odgers Berndtson, said there was anecdotal evidence that “plenty of firms are recognising the need to appoint more women to the board”. “Client-side, there is certainly a change in ’mood music’ from chairmen,” he said.

However, the situation of 14.2% of women on FTSE 100 board seats, with the aim of 33% as recommended by the Davies Report, wasn’t going to change over night, according to John Ellis, managing partner Boyden UK and head of the board practice. “At the briefing stage [with clients], we work with chairmen to broaden the pool we’re fishing in. For example, if they stipulate previous FTSE 100 experience, we question them to ask if they really need that,” Ellis told Recruiter. The key was not to focus on women at the board level, but look at the senior executive level. “You need to get the balance right leading up to board level,” he said.

Bingham agreed. Since the report, Odgers has started running half-day Women on Board seminars to introduce non-executive roles to existing top women candidates. “It’s proving very popular with candidates,” he said.

Elsewhere recruiters are addressing succession issues. Financial recruiter Goodman Masson runs a ’Women in Leadership’ initiative and is currently working with a FTSE 100 organisation on a project called ’Talent Pipeline’. “One area is how they attract more senior women,”

Goodman Masson’s chief executive, Guy Hayward, told Recruiter. “They find their female graduate and early career of women is strong, although mainly due to starting a family they lose them during the middle management years. This has an obvious knock-on effect to women occupying board positions.”