Irish businesses report decline in women in senior roles

Ireland slightly ahead of global average despite year-on-year drop in number of women in senior management roles

Grant Thornton research has revealed a drop in the number of women in senior management roles recorded in the past year. The findings in the annual Women in Business Report - part of the firm’s mid-market business survey - found just 36% of women held senior management roles in Irish businesses in 2024. The findings reflect a 10% drop from the previous year when 40% of senior management roles were held by women.

While the figures are disappointing through a year-on-year lens, they demonstrate significant progress in the drive towards gender equality in the past decade, more than doubling from the 16% recorded in the 2014 Women in Business Report.

While Ireland may be performing better than the 2024 global average of 33.5% it highlights that progress has been slow and global parity will not be achieved until 2053 at this rate.

Speaking of the findings, Partner and Chair of Grant Thornton Ireland Sinead Donovan said,

"There is no doubt that the landscape has shifted in the past decade and gender parity is very much on the agenda of policymakers, the c-suite, and people leaders in organisations. It is also heartening, for the most part, to see the value that is now being placed on diversity, equity and inclusion (DE&I) policies across businesses in all sectors.

However, the Women in Business Report reminds us that progress in the area of gender parity is fragile and can be knocked easily. This year’s report reported a small increase of 1.1% in the number of women in senior management roles globally and a very alarming 10% decrease in the number of women in senior management roles in Ireland.

The reason for this decrease needs to be carefully scrutinized so that we understand why the shift. This is critical, as there is no doubt that gender parity needs to remain a clear goal for successful businesses.

This year’s Women in Business Report speaks to two decades of insights gathered by Grant Thornton and proposes three clear pathways to increasing the number of women in senior management roles. These include appointing a member of the c-suite in businesses to help steer the direction, developing robust DE&I strategies with tangible outputs, and ensuring there is a flexible working arrangement that supports employees.

Gender parity is a real opportunity and should be regarded in that light. Business leaders have an onus to ensure we continue to move in that direction, and I would really call for a greater sense of urgency in boardrooms to develop a pathway to truly achieving gender parity. I believe we need to see the pace of progress quicken in this regard."

Pathway to Parity

Coinciding with International Women’s Day, Grant Thornton has released "Pathways to Parity: 20 Years of Women in Business Insights", marking two decades of dedicated research aimed at monitoring and measuring the representation of women in senior management roles within mid-market companies worldwide. 

The report identifies three clear pathways for businesses to accelerate progress towards gender parity in senior management: assigning responsibility for diversity, equity, and inclusion (DE&I) to both a C-suite member and a female senior leader; implementing a standalone DE&I strategy with measurable goals; and offering flexible working arrangements.

Firstly, who leads and is responsible for DE&I is key for increasing the percentage of senior management roles held by women. For every senior management role that leads on DE&I, the percentage of women in senior management positions increases when a member of the C-suite of any gender leads alongside a senior female leader.

When a CEO of any gender combines with a senior female leader, 38% of senior roles are held by women. The best combination is when a CIO leads on DE&I alongside a female senior leader, with the percentage of women in senior management rising to 39%.

Secondly, to achieve parity of women in senior management roles, businesses must have a DE&I strategy in place. The most successful strategy focuses on DE&I alone, independent of a broader ESG strategy. Mid-market firms with a DE&I strategy but no ESG strategy have the highest percentage of senior management roles held by women (38%) - slightly more than businesses with both a DE&I strategy and an ESG strategy (36%). If businesses do not have a DE&I or ESG strategy, the percentage drops to 28%.

The final pathway to parity is the ability to work flexibly. There has been a dramatic shift back to office-based working among global mid-market firms in the past 12 months. 47% of businesses are now primarily office-based (compared to 36% last year) and 45% are hybrid (compared to 53% last year).

This is potentially being driven by male CEOs – 50% of businesses with a male CEO are predominantly office-based, compared to 40% of female-led businesses. Businesses in which workers are primarily office-based are the only ones where the percentage of women in senior management roles drops below the global benchmark.

Grant Thornton urges businesses to heed the call for action and seize the opportunity to drive meaningful change. As the global economy evolves, focusing on gender parity is essential to ensure a prosperous and equitable future for all.

View our Women in Business 2024 Report Visit our IBR Hub