Less than four in 10 new leadership roles last year were secured by women, with Irish female professionals only holding a quarter of C-suite positions, new data from LinkedIn shows.
The research published by the networking site highlights how women are underrepresented across the board at managerial and senior levels, with women holding less than a third of leadership roles in Ireland.
At entry level, 46% of positions are filled by women, dropping to 42% at managerial level, and 31% at senior leadership level.
The gender leadership gap is evident across all sectors of the economy, except in hospitals and healthcare, where women hold half of leadership roles and 70% of entry level jobs.
Many sectors have a pronounced gap with the proportion of women working at the entry and leadership levels, including retail where there is a 16% gap, with women making up 51% of the workforce and 35% of leadership.
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Real estate has a 15% gap, with a 39% female workforce and 24% female leadership, while professional services (43% female workforce, 31% female leadership) and financial services (44% workforce, 32% leadership) both have gender gaps of 12%.
Manufacturing, meanwhile, not only has a 10% leadership gap, but a markedly low level of female participation, with women making up just over a third (35%) of workers in the sector while accounting for 25% of leadership positions.
“Ireland has made real strides in its drive towards gender equality in the workplace over the past number of decades, but clearly a lot of work still needs to be done," said Sharon Cooey, head of LinkedIn in Ireland.
"It’s not that long ago when my own mother’s role as a nurse was impacted by the marriage bar. Its repeal had a transformative effect. In one generation, Ireland went from banning married women from work, to electing a married woman as President.”
“Tackling the gender leadership gap comes down to sowing the seeds of change to help women at the early stages of their career thrive and flourish as they rise up the career ladder.
"There are plenty of progressive actions organisations can commit to, for example embedding flexible working in their culture, advocating for the female talent within their organisation and building out a team that is reflective of Irish society.”
The research also found that demand for remote roles by women remains high, with almost one in four (23%) job applications by Irish female workers targeting hybrid working opportunities on average in 2022.
LinkedIn said this points to a need for organisations across Ireland to focus on inclusive hiring practices, boosting internal promotion rates, and flexible working practices in order to retain female talent and support career growth.
Practical measures include establishing diverse slates of candidates during hiring processes, eliminating bias from job descriptions, and including women on interview panels.
Photo: Sharon Cooey. (Pic: LinkedIn)
