Women in leadership in Ireland

Women are under-represented in the most senior, best-paid roles in Irish business. That matters for fairness, for who makes decisions, and for the gender pay gap, because a gap at the top raises average pay for men.

Key facts

These figures come from the CSO Gender Balance in Business Survey 2025. It covers large enterprises with 250 or more employees as of 1 January 2025, and 64% of those surveyed responded.

• 19.2%: the share of chief executives who are women, almost unchanged from 19.0% in 2023.
• 17.8%: the share of chairpersons who are women, down from 18.7% in 2023.
• 27.9%: women’s share of board members, up from 24.6% in 2023.
• 32.3%: women’s share of senior executives, up from 30.4% in 2023. In construction it is 15.2%.
• 33.3%: the share of enterprises that have set targets for women’s representation at senior executive level.

Is it changing?

Slowly, and unevenly. Women made up 35.1% of newly appointed senior executives, which is above their current share of those roles, and board representation is rising. The top jobs have barely moved, though, and the share of women chairing boards has fallen.

Across all employers, women made up 38.4% of managers, directors and senior officials in the second quarter of 2024 (CSO). PayGap.ie lets you see how many women are among the highest-paid staff at individual employers.

Where to find out more

• CSO Gender Balance in Business Survey 2025: the full results and sector breakdowns
• PayGap.ie: pay quartile figures for employers in Ireland
• European Institute for Gender Equality: the EU Gender Equality Index, with country comparisons
• National Women’s Council: Ireland’s national women’s membership organisation
• Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission: the State’s equality and human rights body

Figures checked October 2026. Each figure gives its year, and newer data may since have been published.