Irish Boards Making Gender Balance Progress

IRISH BOARDS MAKING GENDER BALANCE PROGRESS 

The fifth annual report of the Balance for Better Business Review Group, published today (November 21st 2022), reveals that Irish businesses have made significant progress in achieving gender balance at Board level over the past year.

The report was launched by Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment Leo Varadkar TD and the Balance for Better Business Co-Chairs Julie Sinnamon and Aongus Hegarty.

Commenting 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.”

WOMEN ON THE BOARDS OF ISEQ20 COMPANIESROSE TO 36% 

The report by the Government established initiative shows that in 2022, the percentage of women on the Boards of ISEQ20 companies rose to 36%, far exceeding the 30% target set for the end of 2022 as well as the 33% target set for the end of 2023.

For other listed companies, the percentage of women on Boards is now 26%, exceeding the 22% target set for the end of 2022 and up 16 percentage points since 2018.

Encouragingly, ISEQ20 Boards have also continued to move beyond a “one and done” approach to adding women to their Boards, with almost three quarters of ISEQ20 listed companies now having three or more female Board members.

While the other listed cohort has a lower number of Boards with three or more women, at 28%, this represents a significant increase from 10.7% in 2019. In addition, the overall percentage of companies listed on the ISEQ overall, with more than three women on their Board has exceeded 50% for the first time – at 51%.

This progress over the past year is reflected in the fact that, for the first time, Ireland has exceeded the EU27 average for the proportion of women on leading company Boards by 1.6 percentage points. The gap between Ireland and the rest of the EU has narrowed every year since Balance for Better Business was established in 2018.

Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment Leo Varadkar TD added:
“Despite the progress, it’s clear that more work needs to be done. Women are still underrepresented in senior roles both at Board and senior leadership level, with just one female Chair on the ISEQ20 and only a small number of female CEOs on publicly listed companies. By failing to include women in leadership teams, businesses ignore the talent of half the population. While change takes time, it’s crucial that businesses redouble their efforts in 2023 to create more opportunities for women to succeed to the highest levels of Irish business.”

WOMEN IN SENIOR LEADERSHIP - SLOWER PROGRESS

While there have been significant gains over the past year, the report also reveals slower progress in some areas, particularly when it comes to the number of women in senior leadership roles. Although the ISEQ20 companies exceeded their 2022 target for female representation at senior leadership level, reaching 27% against a target of 26%, other listed companies have missed their 22% target for the year. Meanwhile, the report shows that women hold just four out of 36 CEO positions in publicly listed companies.

Although it has been a stated target of Balance for Better Business that no listed companies should have all-male Boards, there are still three listed companies with all-male Boards, albeit down from five all-male Boards in 2021, with just one female Chair represented on the ISEQ20.

Balance for Better Business co-chair Julie Sinnamon said: “Since its launch in 2018, Balance for Better Business has worked not only to promote gender balance at Board and executive leadership levels, but also to share the experience of organisations on the journey towards achieving gender balance. Those efforts to date are
reflected in the progress that has been made across the past year in terms of gender balance at Board level, notwithstanding the fact that work remains to be done to ensure that women are able to progress into the most senior positions on Board and leadership teams.

“At Balance for Better Business, we’ll continue to support businesses as they look to bridge these gaps. By highlighting the ways in which proactive talent management and succession planning provide robust pathway for women to succeed to more senior roles, our aim is to help foster the deeper behavioural and cultural transformation required to drive real change across Irish organisations.”

Balance for Better Business co-chair Aongus Hegarty added: “While the progress made this year among businesses is to be welcomed, there are still too many companies with all male boards and leadership teams in Ireland. This is despite the compelling business case of having an equal number of men and women in senior leadership positions including greater levels of innovation, enhanced financial returns and stronger Environmental, Social and Government (ESG) performance.

“With the aim of inspiring action at senior leadership level, this year’s report highlights three key recommendations for improving gender balance at board and leadership level. These include setting stretch targets and building an action plan to achieve them, fostering a gender balanced succession plan and pipeline of female talent, and mandating gender balanced candidate lists for open roles. Through these specific actions, we want to empower leaders to build a culture that promotes gender balance while also reaping the many benefits of diverse and inclusive leadership.”

To download a copy of the fifth report of the Balance for Better Business Review Group click here 

ABOUT PRINCIPAL CONNECTIONS

Principal Connections - executive search is Ireland's Top Diversity and Inclusion Executive Search Firm. At Principal Connections, we believe that we have an important role to play in helping our clients build diverse leadership teams.

Clients engage us to address the growing importance of diversity in their employee population. Companies that incorporate inclusion strategies in their business have stronger financial performance and provide greater shareholder value. Principal Connections has a strong track record in diversity search assignments and embraces the global reality of diversity and inclusion.

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Irish Business Prioritising Gender Balance at Board Level

IRISH BUSINESS PRIORITISING GENDER BALANCE AT BOARD LEVEL

The fourth report of the Balance for Better Business Review Group shows that Irish businesses have made important progress in achieving gender balance at Board level within the past year in Ireland. The report recently launched on Monday December 13th, 2021 by the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment Leo Varadkar TD and the Balance for Better Business Co-Chairs Julie Sinnamon and Aongus Hegarty. The report from the Government established initiative shows that the overall trends at Board level are positive, although concern remains around progress at senior leadership level.

TOP PUBLICLY LISTED COMPANIES IN IRELAND ON TRACK

In 2021, the percentage of women on the Boards of ISEQ 20 companies rose to 31%, up from 18% meaning that the top publicly listed companies in Ireland are well on track to achieve the 33% goal by the end of 2023. For other listed companies, the percentage of women on Boards is now at 20%, hitting the target set for the end of 2021 and up from 9.6% in early 2018. For large Irish companies, the percentage of women on Boards is 22%, only narrowly missing the 23% target set for the end of 2021. As of November 2021, Ireland had moved up to 12th position from 17th on the list of women on company boards for the largest companies in the EU27 illustrating the progress that has been made since Balance for Better Business was first established in 2018.

OTHER LISTED COMPANIES AND LARGE IRISH OWNED PRIVATE COMPANIES MISSED THEIR TARGETS

While the ISEQ20 companies have exceeded their 2021 target for female representation at senior leadership level, other listed companies and large Irish owned private companies have both missed their targets for the end of 2021. Although it has been a stated target of Balance for Better Business that no listed companies should have an all-male board, there are still five (13%) listed companies with all-male boards.

Commenting on the report, the Tánaiste said: “It’s encouraging to see further progress has been made this year and I’m especially pleased that we have reached the interim target of having 30% female representation on the boards of the ISEQ20 companies. In 2018, the average was only 18%, so this is significant progress, however it is a far cry from the equal representation we aspire to and clearly more needs to be done. “Women are still underrepresented in executive director roles and progress to rectify this issue has been too slow. There are still five listed companies with all-male boards. Change takes time, but the progress made shows what can be achieved when companies focus on making change happen. I hope next year to see greater progress on senior leadership targets.”

Welcoming the report, Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration, and Youth, Roderic O’Gorman TD said: “The continued progress, particularly among ISEQ20 companies in improving women’s representation on boards and senior leadership teams is a positive step in terms of gender equality. However, the missed targets by other listed companies and large Irish owned private companies are in line with the findings of the latest OECD report on the gender pay gap across OECD countries, which shows that in spite of societal changes over decades and various labour market, educational and public policy initiatives, women continue to earn less than men and that gap is highest amongst the highest paid. Gender Pay Gap reporting will be introduced in Ireland in 2022, mandatory reporting which will include reporting on the reasons for any pay gap.”

Co-Chair Julie Sinnamon said the business case for more diverse decision making and leadership is well established. “Balance for Better Business wants to put gender balance on the agenda of every Irish company and make Ireland a more gender balanced economy. While work remains to be done at the board level, the real challenge is in achieving balance at leadership level in organisations.  We will continue to highlight how proactive talent management and succession planning provide pathways for business to facilitate change in their own organisations. A strong and robust pipeline of future female leaders influences the shape of future leadership teams and boards.  This will provide sustainable, long term change, in a way that continuing to place too much emphasis on recruiting women to boards cannot.”

Co-Chair Aongus Hegarty said a cultural change was required which needed active engagement by senior business leaders across Ireland. “There are still too many companies with all-male boards and leadership teams in Ireland. Achieving gender equality requires honest and rigorous self-assessment, time, and sustained effort and that’s why we’re calling on companies to do three things. Firstly, set targets and have an action plan, treating gender balance like any other business objective. Secondly, build a gender balanced succession plan at both board and executive leadership team level. Thirdly, report on your progress to achieve transparency and accountability, as this will send a clear message to potential talent, to customers and customers that you understand and the value a more diverse and inclusive workforce.

BALANCE FOR BETTER BUSINESS (B4BB)

Balance for Better Business (B4BB) is an independent business-led Review Group established by the government in July 2018 to improve and promote gender balance at board and leadership level of Irish business, which in turn will drive better business and societal outcomes.

BIOGRAPHIES

Julie Sinnamon recently stepped down as CEO of Enterprise Ireland. She is also a member of the National Competitiveness and Productivity Council (NCPC) and the Investment Committee of the Irish Strategic Investment Fund. She is a board member of Social Entrepreneurs Ireland.

Aongus Hegarty serves as President of Dell Technologies for International Markets. Aongus co-leads the Global Women’s Network and is a member of the Global Diversity Council, chaired by Michael Dell. Aongus is former Chairman of the Executive Council for the American Chamber of Commerce to the European Union as well as a member of the Special Olympics Ireland Council of Patrons.

ABOUT PRINCIPAL CONNECTIONS

Principal Connections - executive search is Ireland's Top Diversity and Inclusion Executive Search Firm. At Principal Connections, we believe that we have an important role to play in helping our clients build diverse leadership teams.

Clients engage us to address the growing importance of diversity in their employee population. Companies that incorporate inclusion strategies in their business have stronger financial performance and provide greater shareholder value. Principal Connections has a strong track record in diversity search assignments and embraces the global reality of diversity and inclusion.

Follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter to keep up to date with all our latest news.