BRITAIN'S top companies only need to appoint two dozen female directors to achieve ambitious targets set for the end of 2015 on boardroom equality, according to a new report.

The number of females with a seat on the boards at FTSE 100 firms has reached 22.8 per cent, says a report by the respected Cranfield School of Management.

It means only another 24 high flying females are needed to fill top positions to achieve a target set by former banker Lord Mervyn Davies in an independent report.

The research found that the percentage of women on the boards of FTSE 100 companies has increased by 82 per cent since the peer published his report in ­February 2012, and by 124 per cent among FTSE 250 companies.

The findings were welcomed by Equalities Minister Jo Swinson, who is confident big firms would meet the target. The Liberal Democrat East Dunbartonshire MP said: "We know boards that reflect their customers, clients and stakeholders are better able to understand their needs.

"We only need another 24 women filling board roles in the FTSE 100 to meet Lord Davies's target of 25 per cent in 2015. Today's report shows that if businesses keep up this momentum, we will achieve this."

But the Cranfield study found gender equality has made fewer strides among executive directors, with just 24 women holding posts at this level in FTSE 100 companies - 8.4 per cent of the total.

Companies on the FTSE 250 were set to miss the 2015 deadline, with just 17.4 per cent women on their boards. If the current pace of change is maintained, the FTSE 250 will hit the 25 per cent target in 2016, said the Cranfield study.

Lord Davies said: "The number of women on our top UK boards has nearly doubled since we published the review in 2011. Although our target is in sight, we must keep up the momentum. Companies need to harness all available talent and those companies with less than 25 per cent of women on the board need to act."

The director of the Cranfield International Centre for Women Leaders, Professor Susan Vinnicombe, said: "It was a landmark day earlier this year when the last all-male board in the FTSE 100 finally appointed its first woman director. With only 28 out of the FTSE 250 boards remaining all-male, we are beginning to see what we hope is lasting change."

The report's co-author, Cranfield visiting fellow Dr Ruth Sealy, added: "What is most encouraging is that, finally, we are seeing the percentage of female executive directors starting to rise, after having stagnated for many years. In the FTSE 100, 24 women now hold 8.4 per cent of executive directorships."