Our unwavering commitment to gender balance continually produces outstanding results.

It’s been proven in study after study that balance and diversity at senior decision-making level in business makes economic sense. The figures leave no doubt.

According to Blackrock’s report ‘Lifting financial performance by investing in women’,* November 2023, ‘companies with the most diverse workforces outperformed their country and industry group peers with the least-diverse workforces in terms of return on assets (RoA) by 1.6 p.p. (29%) per year, on average, over the 2013-2022 period.’

Of all non-executive directors we placed during 2023, 77% of successful candidates were female.

Irish women swept the boards in 2023

Women in Ireland are steadily and ably stepping into influential board positions in increasing numbers, proving their talent and capability to lead at the highest levels of business. 

According to Balance for Better Business sixth annual report, published on December 6th 2023, Ireland ranks in the top ten countries in the EU27 for female representation on boards of listed companies and 6th across the EU27 for female representation on leadership teams.

Notable progress has been made in furthering gender balance in executive leadership in Ireland over the past 5 years. Examining the landscape, female representation has advanced more strongly in some areas than others.

‘Women on ISEQ20 board seats in 2023 was 39%, exceeding the 33% target. Aiming for a target of 25% females on boards of other listed companies, this was also exceeded, reaching 28%. On boards of private companies under Irish ownership, the figure is unchanged since 2021, at 22%.’

Executive leadership leaves room for more balance and diversity

Positive as this progress is, Irish women are able and ambitious for more. Simon Coveney, speaking at the launch of the latest Balance for Better Business report, is clear he wants to see higher numbers of women in executive leadership roles – as CEOs, CFOs, COOs, CHROs, Chairpersons and more.

“Women are still underrepresented in key decision-making roles at senior leadership and Board level, with only two female chairs and three CEOs across all publicly listed companies. It’s critical that firms address these areas to increase the pace of progress and create a gender balanced enterprise economy where leadership roles accurately reflect Irish society" - Simon Coveney.

The report says:

“The number of women in key decision-making roles at publicly listed companies remains low. The total number of female CEOs across all publicly listed companies has fallen to three, just 9% of all listed companies. There are only two female chairs across all publicly listed companies, representing 6% of total company boards. The number of female CFOs is consistent with last year’s figure of four.”

Female representation in key decision-making roles is stronger in private companies with 13% of those companies having a female chair, 21% having a female CEO and 28% having a female CFO.  Similarly, multinational organisations have stronger female leadership, 18% of country leads are female and 28% of finance heads.

Of CEOs we placed during 2023, we’re pleased that 40% of these new leaders of Irish organisations were female.  

This has been a consistent theme in recent years in conversations about the numbers of females in executive leadership. Though board representation continues to grow promisingly, the journey towards parity in C-suite positions is slower. 

Women’s representation tends to deteriorate with seniority, reflected in poorer numbers of females in key roles as careers progress. The much discussed ‘broken rung’ is still a missing act in the gender parity passage from entry to mature stage careers. 

‘…it is diversity that counts, rather than the dominance of women or men. Neither under-representation nor overrepresentation of women – or men, for that matter – is optimal.’  - Blackrock

McKinsey’s ninth Women in the Workplace report, December 2023, the largest study of women in corporate America and Canada, compiles data from 276 participating organisations that employ more than 10 million people. More than 27,000 employees and 270 senior HR leaders were surveyed. 

‘For the ninth consecutive year, women face their biggest hurdle at the first critical step up to manager. This year, for every 100 men promoted from entry level to manager, 87 women were promoted.’ This hurdle means less women move through managerial level to be ready to take up executive positions later. 

Can hybrid, flexible work practices help to advance gender balance?

But the study also found that hybrid working arrangements and workplace flexibility have led most employees see opportunities to work remotely and personally control their schedules as top company benefits. Both men and women note flexibility as a top 3 employee benefit, and this leads to less fatigue and burnout and more success for their employers. 

Grant Thornton’s Women in Business 2023 research shows that businesses that offer hybrid, flexible or home working outperform when it comes to retention of women in senior management. '

The more flexible the workplace, the more we see women getting into senior leadership' - Grant Thornton

Plcs benefit from fresh, focused talent

Of candidates we placed to plcs in 2023, an unprecedented 80% were female.

This is a big endorsement of the integral and pivotal roles females are playing as leaders and drivers of change in large organisations. 

We look forward to continuing our unwavering support to our clients and candidates during 2024. Each mandate is personally managed with meticulous attention, leaving no stone unturned in  identifying and connecting with the most compelling candidates who align with the essentials, specifics, and nuances our mandates demand.

Connect with us today.