Ladies extra prone to maintain CFO or HR roles than CEO positions

Grant Thornton’s report highlights the challenges ladies face as they aspire to CEO roles.

Skilled providers agency Grant Thornton has launched its Ladies in Enterprise 2026 report, which exhibits that in Eire, whereas progress has been made within the space of gender variety in senior management, main challenges nonetheless stay for girls aiming for CEO titles. 

Between July and October of 2025, Grant Thornton carried out interviews with workers in additional than 100 Irish companies. What was found is that whereas all-male management groups have fallen sharply from 16pc, to simply 9pc, ladies are 4 instances extra prone to be a CFO (63pc) or HR (58pc) director than a CEO. The report discovered that ladies are 30 instances extra prone to maintain these roles than to turn into a chair

Illustration of girls in senior administration roles in Eire was proven to have risen to 41pc, up virtually 5pc from 2025 and forward of the worldwide common at 32pc, however the share of Irish companies with no ladies in senior administration in any respect continues to be one in ten.

Commenting on the analysis, Amanda Ward, the co-head of consulting at Grant Thornton, stated, “It’s encouraging to see Eire not solely outpacing international tendencies but in addition considerably decreasing the variety of all-male management groups. 

“The progress is simple. However the information additionally exhibits that ladies proceed to be closely represented in particular management roles whereas underrepresented in CEO or chair positions. The true long-term signal of progress will finally be if ladies are equally capable of land the highest job.”

Equilibrium 

The report additionally highlighted how gender stability is of key significance to potential and current workers. Feminine illustration amongst an organization’s senior ranks was proven to be a significant affect on recruitment and expertise retention. 

One out of each seven collaborating companies reported that potential workers have both requested concerning the gender stability of the corporate’s senior administration, or for proof of on-going commitments to result in gender equality. Nearly half of the contributing workers felt that there was heightened equal remedy at work as a consequence of gender equality methods being in place.

Ward stated, “The analysis exhibits that gender variety is just not a box-ticking train. Potential workers are more and more asking concerning the gender stability of senior management groups and searching for tangible proof of equality commitments earlier than accepting roles. 

“Companies that embed significant gender equality methods will not be solely strengthening decision-making on the high but in addition positioning themselves for long-term success.”

Steve Tennant, a managing associate at Grant Thornton Eire and the EMEA CEO of the Grant Thornton advisors multinational platform, added, “Expectations have moved on, clients, buyers and expertise more and more decide corporations on the seriousness of their dedication to gender variety. 

“This isn’t optionally available. Organisations that fail to behave will fall behind. Whereas the progress made thus far is encouraging, we have to hold the momentum going if we’re to lastly and decisively break the glass ceiling.”

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