Irish Businesses Must Reinforce Their Women Strength

Irish businesses need to reinforce their female workforce strength for better gender balance progress. The executive-level gender balance needs to weigh more with female inclusion, said co-chairperson of Balance for Better Business (B4BB).

Carol Andrews, co-chairperson said that gender balance for better Irish business stability is mandatory. According to Andrews, it is a strategic imperative move that Irish firms need at present.

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In the recent publication of the group’s five-year strategy, Carol Andrews cited that for improved financial success of a company, women’s strength is the backbone. Among the many benefits, gender balance creation is one of the prominent ones, especially if women are given a chance at board and leadership levels.

Andrews said, “Whatever their size or sector, gender balance should be a strategic imperative for every business. It would be encouraging to see Irish organisations making progress”.

She heads an independent business-led group with corporate boards having women in notable positions. The senior management of this group in Ireland is making waves as research suggests that 40 per cent of female representatives at higher positions in Ireland is a significant improvement.

B4BB data on Irish businesses women strength

Earlier this year, the data published by B4BB showed that this increase in Irish business’ boards was a great initiative, which is a 22 per cent increment as compared to 2018.

For a better gender balance, most of the ISEQ20 listed companies are now having three or more women as board members while 60 per cent of the Irish listed companies have at least three females in similar positions.

The current data signifies a laudable situation for female representation in senior leadership, still more work is required in this regard, the report said.

The report indicates that the gender balance should be consistent across the sectors in Irish businesses as women leadership has stopped at 27 per cent among ISEQ20 companies while male leadership still appears to be enjoying a growth graph.

Andrews remarked that the situation is of particular concern as women need to be in the decision-making roles of the company. The data implies that two female chairs and two female CEOs in publicly listed companies in the region, which is not a good sign, Andrews said.

Urgent action needs to be taken for the advancement of the Irish business community with an enhanced advocacy for gender diversity. She was of the view that “prominent role models are crucial to encouraging change and inspiring the next generation of female decision-makers”.

Keeping B4BB’s five-year strategy in the spotlight, the strategy asks for an ambitious new program for increasing women’s strength in chief decision-making roles of the companies. The females would be in a position to do a “critical part of this work” after setting ambitious targets for Irish businesses.

Carol Andrews noted that a new target needs to be established for 40 per cent women representation in Irish company boards. She remarked that businesses should be encouraged to achieve this minimum quota so that gender balance goals are met in reality.

She assured that this quote demonstrates an international gender balance for balanced leadership strength. She requested the organisations to join the journey in which a roadmap and guidance to achieve the targets in a structured way would be offered by B4BB.

It was explained that to gain this structured roadmap, five key areas need tools for the required acceleration of this target achievement. The focus areas include planning, developing gender-balanced succession plans, measurement against the set targets, assisting in the acquisition of the right talent and retaining it later.

Also, the removal of cultural barriers for succession planning for women to help them advance to the role of CEO, Chairperson or CFO would create a positive work culture, Andrews notified. This would be a “concrete and sustainable” change that Irish businesses are in dire need of in contemporary times.