Female board members are almost twice as likely to have professional technology experience as their male counterparts, according to research from consulting group Accenture.

The study found that on average 16% of female board members had tech experience, compared with just 9% of men in the boardroom.

Accenture’s figures show that 17.6% of women on UK boards had tech experience against 9.4% of men. The US had the largest number of women with tech knowledge at 26.3%, but the biggest proportion of men, at 17.1%.

Roxanne Taylor, Accenture’s chief marketing and communications officer, said: “As technology disrupts virtually every industry, companies need to think more broadly about the types of skills and experience for their boards, including getting more technology acumen into the boardroom.

“At the same time, they need to stay focused on gender diversity, since organisations with diversity at board level perform better.”

She added: “Women directors with technology experience bring diversity and valuable insight—a clear recipe for strategic advantage.”

Accenture conducted the research in Europe, Asia, North America, South America and Australia.