by HRHQ Editorial Team
Grant Thornton research has revealed an increase in the number of businesses without female representation in senior management in Ireland. The findings in the annual Women in Business Report – part of the firm’s mid-market business survey – found that more than one in seven (16.3%) businesses had no women in senior management roles.
These findings reflect an upward trend, as they have increased by almost 5% from last year (11.7%). A further 13.8% of respondents have just one woman on their senior management team.
Despite steady progress in recent years, of those Irish businesses surveyed, just over one third (36.5%) of senior management roles were held by women in 2025. It is promising, however, to see that this figure is up slightly from last year (0.5%+ from 36% in 2024) and Ireland is performing better than the global (34%) and European averages (34.9%).
This year marks 21 years of the Women in Business Report, in which Ireland, in 2016, recorded a high of two fifths of businesses (40.6%) with no women in senior management. The report has highlighted that without immediate action, gender parity in senior management roles won’t be achieved until 2051 – a stark reminder of the urgency needed to address gender inequality.
While this year’s figures are disappointing, there has been some progress. Over the last decade we’ve seen an upward trajectory and rising percentages of women holding every role that makes up the senior management team.
In 2025, Chief Human Resources Officer (48.8%) and Chief Financial Officer (43.8%) are the most common roles held by women in senior management in Ireland. Whereas the two least likely roles for women to hold in senior management in 2025 are CEO (6.2%) and Chairperson (2.5%).
