Shortage of boardroom women 'affected crisis'

The Treasury Select Committee said the small proportion of women at the top could have contributed to "group think" in boardrooms.

It also said suggestions that greater female representation at senior levels would have made the banking crisis less likely "may be going too far".

The report, published today, said diversity among financial firms in the FTSE 100 Index is lower than for other top companies, with women making up nine per cent of listed bank boards compared to 12.2 per cent on the index as a whole.

The committee's report said: "We believe the lack of diversity on the boards of many, if not most, of our major financial institutions may have heightened the problems of 'group think' and made effective challenge and scrutiny of executive decisions less effective."

The 14-strong committee – which itself has only one female member – said change should be cultural, rather than legislative.