2% of apprentices are women: Far too few

This week’s report from an Oireachtas committee that recorded that only 2% of apprenticeships are undertaken by women is a reality check showing that the glass ceiling has a cousin — a glass perimeter excluding women from certain careers.

Those who feel precluded from becoming an apprentice are unlikely to be encouraged by a Government-commissioned review which this week recommended that the boards of the 20 biggest publicly-quoted companies should be at least 33% female within four years, while women should make up at least a quarter of the directors of other Irish listed companies.