Progress on gender balance on boards, but more work to do.
Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment Leo Varadkar TD launched the 5th annual Balance for Better Business report this week. Balance for Better Business is an independent business-led Review Group established by the government in 2018 to improve gender balance in senior leadership in Ireland.
The report finds that significant progress has been achieved by business in Ireland with the ISEQ 20 and other listed companies outperforming the targets set for them by Balance for Better Business in 2018.
The percentage of women on the boards of ISEQ 20 companies has risen to 36%, outperforming the EU average and exceeding the targets set for the end of 2022 (30%) and 2023 (33%) respectively. For other listed companies, the percentage of women on boards is now 26%, exceeding the 2022 target of 22%, and up 16 percentage points since 2018. In addition, almost three quarters of ISEQ 20 companies have three or more female board members. This is crucial for creating real change as research tells us that one female can be seen as a token, two is still a novelty, but three on your average board achieves a critical mass whereby their contribution is given and listened to.
Commenting in the media on the findings of the report, Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment Leo Varadkar TD said: “As we look back over the past year, it’s encouraging to see the progress that continues to be made on gender balance across the Irish business landscape. I’m especially pleased to see that Ireland has now not only caught up with, but exceeded, the EU average for the representation of women on the largest listed companies’ boards. This marks a significant accomplishment, especially given that this has occurred over a relatively short time period.”
Work needs to continue however throughout the pipeline as progress is slower in terms of the number of women in senior leadership positions, with the ISEQ 20 companies reaching 27% against a target of 26%, but the other listed companies missing their 22% target. In fact, only four of the 36 CEO positions in publicly listed companies are held by women, only one female Chair exists on the ISEQ20 and there remain three all-male boards.
The overall progress is welcome and to be celebrated, but further effort and consistent action is required to really embed cultural change in organisations and society to achieve true gender equality and balance on our boards and leadership teams. To help achieve that aim Balance for Better Business recommends three key actions: 1) setting stretch targets and building an action plan to achieve them, 2) fostering a gender balanced succession plan and pipeline of female talent, and
3) mandating gender balanced candidate lists for open roles.
To download a copy of the fifth report click here.
Kara McGann
Head of Social Policy
