Irish public companies are exceeding EU rules on female board representation

Average female representation across the boards of all Irish listed companies was 37%, which review group called a positive sign they remain on track to exceed EU requirements of 33% of all board members by June 2026

Balance for Better Business co-chairs Bernard Byrne and Carol Andrews with enterprise minister Peter Burke.  

Irish public companies have already exceeded EU female representation requirements on boards and in non-executive directors positions ahead of the deadline of June 2026, new data from Balance for Better Business Review Group has found.

However, female representation in leadership roles still remains low, with none of the Iseq 20 companies having a female chief executive and only one among all the remaining listed companies.

According to data from the review group, the proportion of women on boards of the Iseq 20 companies remains steady at 40%. The Iseq 20 includes some of the biggest Irish companies, including the pillar banks, Ryanair, Glanbia, and the Kerry Group.

The average female representation across the boards of all Irish listed companies was 37%, which the review group called a positive sign they remain on track to exceed EU requirements of 33% of all board members by June 2026.

Nearly half, 45%, of non-executive directors on the boards of all listed companies are women, also surpassing new rules requiring 40% of non-executive directors to be women by June next year.

More than half, 53%, of the senior independent director roles on the Iseq 20 companies are held by women.

However, the review group said while progress had been made at board level, more needed to be done at senior leadership positions.

The proportion of women on the leadership teams across both the Iseq 20 and all listed companies cohorts has fallen slightly from 24% to 23% this year, with 23% of leadership teams across all listed companies being all male.

There are four female chief financial officers across all Irish listed companies. There are two female chairs on the boards of Ireland’s largest listed companies, unchanged from last year.

As of the end of 2024, Ireland ranked sixth among the EU's 27 member states in board representation and fifth for leadership representation.

Carol Andrews, co-chair of Balance for Better Business, said it was “vital” that more organisations" intensify their efforts to unlock the benefits of a gender-balanced workforce”.

That’s why we’re calling on all organisations, private, public and semi-State to aim for a 40% plus target across both board and leadership teams as they strive for change. 

Balance for Better Business is an independent business-led review group established by the government in July 2018 with the aim of promoting gender balance at board and leadership level of Irish businesses.

Enterprise minister Peter Burke said while “much has been achieved, more work remains ahead”.

“Women are still underrepresented on leadership teams and in key decision-making roles such as chair and chief executive. It’s crucial that all organisations put in place the policies and processes to address these focus areas and accelerate the pace of progress,” he said.

While the trends for the Iseq 20 and other public companies were welcomed by the review group, it acknowledged the declining size of this index represents a small proportion of Irish business — about 120,000 of the 2.7 million currently in the Irish labour market.

As it moves forward, the group said it would put an increased emphasis on progress in privately held companies as they represent a larger proportion of the economy overall and a greater number of employees.