The number of women directors on Irish company boards has surpassed 30pc for the first time.

Women now hold 31pc of seats on company boards here, up from 26pc at the same time last year, according to research from consulting group EY.

The data suggests private companies have a higher share of women directors than Irish stock market-listed PLCs

Almost seven out of 10 company directors are still men.

Olivia McEvoy, director of diversity and inclusion at EY, said the fact that the 30pc mark has been passed is “surprising” as “progress is very slow”.

“All organisations say diversity is important to them, but they are slow to implement change,” Ms McEvoy told the Irish Independent.

“While we do need to celebrate this milestone and acknowledge the direction female representation is going, this does not gender equality make.”

Among the high-profile women in senior roles in Ireland is Siobhan Talbot, managing director of nutrition and ingredients group Glanbia.

Pending legislation will force companies to report their so called gender pay gap – the difference between average earnings of female and male employees – and has had an impact on attitudes among business leaders, Ms McEvoy said.

Those rules are due to come into force next year.

“The legislation is already at the forefront of people’s minds, we know it is coming down the tracks, and people want to be ahead of the game,” she said.

While one in three organisations have already taken appropriate measures to address the causes of any gender pay gap, according to the EY research, some 59pc of respondents favour regulation or legislation as a driver for creating more diverse and inclusive businesses.

In addition, the report finds that organisations which aspire to gender parity are more likely to have specific programmes or initiatives in place to develop female leaders.

The findings come as the 30pc Club and business lobby group Ibec launched a new executive and board resourcing code, an initiative which aims to support companies in improving their gender balance at senior levels.

The code sets out principles for senior executive selection and is designed to be followed by executive search firms, in collaboration with employers.

The 30pc Club was established here in 2015 with the aim of seeing 30pc female representation in top jobs by 2020.

Source: Read Full Article