Spotlight on Ireland

Hana Dickinson

All Irish business leaders, that we have spoken with, know what needs to be done to progress towards gender equality. All understand the research that better female representation at senior levels improves business performance. All accept that it is simply the right and equitable thing to do. Many unfortunately do not know “how”? Until now.

The Irish Times reported in March that: "Women hold 30% of director roles at top Iseq companies but progress on gender balance remains ‘fragile’ overall and slow on leadership teams". Representation of women on the boards of Ireland's biggest companies has reached the 30 per cent level, a percentage that is "seen as an important threshold for critical mass, making it more likely that companies will benefit from the experience and perspective of female directors". However, the ongoing "serious lack" of women in executive leadership teams points to the continued waste of female talent.

Fixing board level representation is important but, for this to be sustainable in the longer term, organisations in Ireland (and elsewhere) need to build their pipeline of future leaders. Organisations like the 30% Club Ireland and government backed initiatives such as Balance Better Business have been doing great work to move the dials. However, a recent report by Balance Better Business suggests that “Gender Imbalance on Leadership Teams Persists Despite Progress on Boards” and, in December 2020, called for “Irish companies to urgently address the serious gender imbalance that persists among Senior Leadership Teams”. The prolonged pandemic seems unlikely to have improved the picture.

Since 2013, ABSTRACT has been working with organisations in UK and Ireland on the “how”? Companies who want to take positive, practical action to support more women and other under-represented groups into leadership positions have learned, with ABSTRACT, that the individual needs to be given the responsibility, the empowerment and the tools to manage their career. We have proven that equipping individuals in more junior roles through to senior manager levels is critical to sustainable change.

Our ACCELERATE and AMBITION programmes not only sharpen the skills and drive of participants, they will also lift and inspire those that follow, creating a ripple effect that can strengthen a whole business. These programmes help companies to improve their results, retain their talent, engage their people and positively change their lives.

In 2019, our ACCELERATE Programme was the winner of the Diversity Initiative of The Year at The Women in Finance Awards in Dublin. Earlier this year, ABSTRACT was a Gold Winner at The Learning Awards in the category External Learning Solution of The Year for a cultural transformation programme we designed and delivered for 7IM.

ABSTRACT’s Commercial Director, Mark Fryer, says: “We believe ABSTRACT can make a genuine difference in supporting positive change in Ireland. We have proven that organisations need to have the right people, in the right environment with the right behaviours. That’s what we do. There is still a long way to go to redress the balance but we’re ready and raring to advocate for making the corporate world a fairer and better place”.

References:

https://www.irishtimes.com/business/work/women-hold-30-of-director-roles-at-top-iseq-companies-1.4501600

https://www.betterbalance.ie/the-tanaiste-launches-the-balance-for-better-business-third-report/

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