Even as Britain’s largest companies are hiring women in executive leadership roles at the fastest pace in five years, there’s a big hurdle to cross: they are still unlikely to be in influential roles overseeing the commercial side of the business.

That’s according to a report by gender consultancy The Pipeline, which found that while women made up almost every third executive committee member in the FTSE350 as of July 2023, they tend to be in so-called “functional roles.” This tends to mean they’re promoted to HR and marketing positions rather than roles with profit and loss responsibilities — which are more likely to lead to a CEO position. Male CEOs account for 91% in the index.