Women are “powering ahead” and now make up 38 per cent of staff in senior management and executive roles in 50 of Ireland’s top companies, outstripping the national average of 30 per cent, according to a new report.
The inaugural Elevate report was published on Tuesday by Business in the Community Ireland, which is a group set up to “inspire and enable businesses to bring about a sustainable, low-carbon economy and a more inclusive society”.
The group has 52 signatories from which it sought diversity profile datasets for the purposes of the report. It received data from 50 of them, with the best of it focused on gender. Data on other indicators of diversity was sparse. The companies employ more than 120,000 people between them.
The data in the report suggests there are higher levels of female participation at senior and executive levels than the national average, although it cautions against wider extrapolation as its signatories are among the more proactive Irish companies in terms of addressing diversity shortfalls.
While workforce entry points for men and women were as anticipated at 52 per cent and 48 per cent respectively, women “powered ahead” of the national average at senior and executive level, roles that carry pay scales of €75,000 and upwards.
Gender-specific initiatives
Most of the signatories have introduced gender-specific initiatives, and the report suggests these are having a positive impact.
“There are 18 companies where the percentage of women at senior management level is at least five percentage points ahead of those at next-level executive/C suite,” it said.
The study states that women fill 30 per cent of top earning posts (€120,000 and upwards). However, it also pointed out that women are disproportionately over-represented in the lowest salary bands (less than €26,000).
The report also noted the necessity for business to develop age-friendly workplaces that will provide a multigenerational workforce, leading to “a diversity of thought, leading to enhanced problem solving”.
Business in the Community Ireland chief executive Tomás Sercovich said: “We no longer need to explain why diversity is good for business. The challenge ahead is how to ensure and sustain true inclusion across society, starting with our workplaces.
“Diversity cannot be taken for granted. This is as much about building a better society as it is about making our businesses more competitive for the future ahead.”
Benchmark
It is anticipated that successive annual reports from the group will be able to benchmark progress across inclusion and diversity, while businesses and companies will be able to learn from each other on how goals were achieved.
The signatories featured in the report were A&L Goodbody, Accenture, Actavo, AIB Group, Aldi, Allianz, Aviva, Bank of Ireland, Bidvest Noonan, Britvic Ireland, BT Ireland, Cairn Homes, Central Bank of Ireland, Coillte, Compass Group Ireland, Cook Medical, Cork Chamber, Deloitte, DHL Supply Chain, Diageo Ireland, Dublin Bus, eir, EirGrid, Energia, Enterprise Rent-a-Car, Fujitsu Ireland, Gas Networks Ireland, Glenveagh Properties, Heineken Ireland, HSBC, Iarnród Éireann, IBM Ireland, Irish Water, Janssen, Lidl Ireland, Marks & Spencer Ireland, Maveric Contractors, Mercury Engineering, Momentum Support, Musgrave Group, Ornua, Permanent TSB, PwC, Roadstone, RSA Insurance Ireland 123.ie, Sky Ireland, Sodexo, SSE, Tesco Ireland, Veolia and William Fry.
