Following the election result, Mr Amitrano said he was “incredibly proud” that two women were nominated in the first place.

He said: “There’s a lot that goes into creating a shortlist and there’s some very, very rigorous assessment. To be clear, diversity and inclusion will remain my number one priority as senior partner.”

The accountant added that he hopes to add Ms Hinton and Ms Hudson to his senior leadership team.

Jemima Olchawski, chief executive of the gender equality and women’s rights charity Fawcett Society, said that appointing a female boss alone wouldn’t have been enough for PwC to break the glass ceiling.

She said: “The most astonishing thing here is that this is the first time that women have even made it onto the shortlist.

“It’s simply not plausible that these are the first women to meet the threshold. The idea of a glass ceiling that can be smashed by a single woman breaking through is a myth.

“Some people will fight and make their way through the eye of the needle – that doesn’t mean the job’s done or that it’s a level playing field.”

A City recruiter added: “Women are so often the bridesmaid in executive contests.”