The proposed initiative aims to increase the number of women on company boards and in senior leadership positions.
Balance for Better Business, an independent review group established by the Irish Government, has announced a new strategy to target the under-representation of women in senior level positions across the Irish business sector.
The plan, which will be put in place over the next five years, aims to have women make up at least 40pc of leadership positions and company board members.
The ambitious target will bring Ireland in line with international standards around gender balance at senior level, with additional goals of increasing profit margins, advancing innovation and addressing customer needs.
From 2024 until 2028, the scheme will focus on five core points: targets, impact, advocacy, policy and a strong trusted voice. There will be an annual review to assess the progress being made, as well as a commitment to showing the positive outcome of a gender-balanced working environment.
More specifically the initiative will focus on skills development, the introduction of unbiased, gender-balanced candidate lists for open roles and promotions, and ensuring companies have succession planning in place to establish a gender-balanced pipeline.
In response to the plan, Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment Peter Burke, TD said, “Over the past five years, Irish businesses have made extraordinary progress in gender balance, with female representation on the boards of ISEQ20 listed companies rising by 22 percentage points to reach the milestone of 40pc earlier this year.”
“However, there is still much work to do, in particular to accelerate the pace of change in non-listed companies and within particular industries. Today’s launch of the Balance for Better Business five-year strategy marks an important step forward, setting out an ambitious new programme for the next five years, and reaffirming Government’s commitment to building an equitable, diverse and inclusive economy, in collaboration with business and social partners.”
Balance for Better Business co-chair Carol Andrews commented, “With the release of our new roadmap supporting firms to take the necessary steps for change, we hope to continue driving sustainable progress towards these goals and achieve a more inclusive system of business leadership that truly reflects Irish society.”
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