Business secretary Vince Cable (left) has written to seven leading UK companies with all-male boards in a direct plea for them to take action to get women into their boardrooms.

Cable’s letter goes to the seven FTSE 100 firms (Antofagasta, Croda, Glencore, Kazakhmys, Melrose, Vedanta and Xstrata) without a woman on their board, with pressure and public attention on the matter continuing in the wake of 2011’s Davies Report.

The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) did not note any deadline for a formal response, and a spokesperson for the body tells Recruiter that neither the letter from Cable nor any responses would be published. Although BIS publicised the sending of the letters, they constituted “a private conversation”, the spokesperson said.

The number of all-male FTSE 100 boards has fallen from 21 in 2010, with Cable saying: “My vision by 2015 is that Britain will not have a single FTSE 100 board without a significant female presence.” He also welcomed the mining firm Randgold, who recently departed from the list with the appointment of Jeanine Mabunda Lioko as a non-executive director.

Cable also noted specific challenges in the industry of the remaining seven firms: “I do recognise that for some businesses, like those in the mining and extractives industry in particular, there are unique challenges in diversifying their boards with the right experience. The frequent travel and project-based work in remote areas of the world have all been cited as barriers to appointing more women in the past.

“However, successful modern companies learn to adapt and survive and doing nothing is not an option anymore. We've seen examples again today that this can be done and I am determined to see further action.”

• A recent round table event hosted by recruiter Randstad UK found 94% of the high-powered businesswomen in attendance believed that quotas are not the best way to ensure women get ahead. However, 50% said that women should actively promote other women.