Share of Irish women in CEO positions rises to 19% as latest figures reveal 'room for improvement'

New figures show the number of women in senior roles is on the rise, except for when it comes to CFOs

Across businesses with more than 250 employees, the proportion of female chairpersons in Ireland rose to 18.7%, up from 14% in 2021 and just 7.4% in 2019.

The proportion of female CEOs in large companies in Ireland has climbed to almost one in five, up from 13.4% just two years ago.

The latest Gender Balance in Business survey published by the Central Statistics Office shows the proportion of women in senior roles has largely risen since 2021.

More than 700 companies were surveyed by the CSO, 69% of which completed the online questionnaire.

Comprising more than 6,500 people working in senior executive or board member positions, the number of female chief executives has seen the most notable increase, rising by more than 5.5% in two years to 19% in 2023.

Across businesses with more than 250 employees, the proportion of female chairpersons in Ireland rose to 18.7%, up from 14% in 2021 and just 7.4% in 2019.

Similarly, the proportion of women on the board of directors has risen to almost a quarter, up from less than 22% in 2021 and under 20% in 2019.

However, data shows that the proportion of female chief financial officers has declined continuously since 2019, standing at just 25.7%, down from almost 30% four years ago. 

"There is still much room for improvement," said Laura McHugh of Taxback. "For far too long, Irish women have been on the back foot when it comes to opportunities around pay and promotion in the workplace."

"The gender pay gap will never be addressed in Ireland unless more women are given realistic opportunities to take up senior roles. This means senior roles must be available to those who require flexible working arrangements – which is what parents need when juggling the demands of work and children."

CSO figures also showed a slight increase in the overall number of female senior executives, those being employees in a company's top management level, rising to 30.4% in 2023 from 29.7% in 2021.

In addition, almost one in four enterprises had at least 40% female representation at Board level in Ireland in 2023 compared with 18.4% in 2021, while just under 30% of enterprises had at least 40% female representation at Senior Executive level, compared with 28.6% in 2021. 

Meanwhile, more than four in ten enterprises indicated that they had set targets for female representation at Senior Executive level in 2023.

"It is clear that men still hold the majority of senior corporate roles and that more work needs to done here," said Janita Lanigan, Senior Consultant in Lockton Ireland.

"One consequence of the gender imbalance at executive level and throughout the workplace is the gender pension gap. The gender pension gap is a sticking point that continues to prevent parity amongst the women and men of Ireland’s workforce."

With men saving more than women year-on-year, Ms Lanigan noted that womens' propensity for part-time work and career breaks takes a significant tole on their overall pension. 

CSO figures also showed that the Other Service Activities sector - which includes a number of professions including trade unions, political organisations, computer repairs, household goods and personal services such as hairdressing, beauty and wellbeing - had the highest proportion of female senior executives in 2023 at 43.5%.

Meanwhile, the Construction sector had the lowest proportion of females in senior executive roles in 2023 at just 13.4%.

"Despite these significant improvements, today’s report demonstrates how much further we still have to go," said Ian Talbot, chief executive of Chambers Ireland.

"One of the greatest constraints on our economy is the talent that has been overlooked merely because its possessor is a woman, we must not keep making that mistake."