Women are better at business, study says

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Female directors are proving far more successful than their male counterparts, a new survey by global information solutions company Experian has said.

According to Experian's research, female directors are more likely to be involved in profitable businesses, with 57.6% of all female directors are involved in companies that make a profit, compared to just 56.1% of male directors.

Despite this gulf in success, female directors remain outnumbered in the UK's boardrooms, with an average of 3.3 male directors to every one female director.

However, this is an improvement on 2005 figures. According to Experian's National Business Database, women now make up 23% of all directors in the UK - up by one quarter of a percentage point on the 2005 ratio.

The study also found that companies in certain industries are more likely to appoint female directors, with companies relating to Education, Health & Social Work and Hospitality & Leisure the most likely to have a female boss.

In comparison, there are 9.1 male directors to every one female director in Britain's utilities companies.

Director of Experian's business to business marketing division Nick Frazer said: "The findings show that entrepreneurial women directors - especially young women - are on the rise, and in a lot of cases are running more profitable businesses.

"For companies wishing to target these companies for marketing purposes, there is a definite need to target the individual director, rather than just the business, through a one-to-one approach."