Gender equality in the workplace may be showing signs of improvement, but a report published Thursday has revealed just how much is left to be done.

The study, backed by the British government, revealed 10 of the "worst explanations" that researchers heard given for not employing women to the boards of the U.K.'s largest companies.

The excuses — which have been branded as "shocking" and "patronizing" — included statements that "all the 'good' women have already been snapped up" and that "most women don't want the hassle or pressure of sitting on a board."

They came from a range of FTSE 350 chairs and chief executives according to the release, and were heard by the team working on the Hampton-Alexander Review, which is calling upon FTSE 350 bosses to make sure that at least a third of all leadership roles and board members are filled by women by 2020.

The 10 explanations are:

"I don't think women fit comfortably into the board environment" "There aren't that many women with the right credentials and depth of experience to sit on the board — the issues covered are extremely complex" "Most women don't want the hassle or pressure of sitting on a board" "Shareholders just aren't interested in the make-up of the board, so why should we be?" "My other board colleagues wouldn't want to appoint a woman on our board" "All the 'good' women have already been snapped up" "We have one woman already on the board, so we are done — it is someone else's turn" "There aren't any vacancies at the moment — if there were I would think about appointing a woman" "We need to build the pipeline from the bottom — there just aren't enough senior women in this sector" "I can't just appoint a woman because I want to."

British government officials and leading business figures have criticized the explanations given, adding that the comments emphasize the need for more gender-equal boards.

"It's shocking that some businesses think these pitiful and patronizing excuses are acceptable reasons to keep women from the top jobs," Business Minister Andrew Griffiths said in a statement.