We hope you all have a great International Women’s Day (IWD) today and have the opportunity to celebrate the role of women in society but particularly in business.  

You’ll find some interesting information on IWD here https://www.internationalwomensday.com/

As part of II’s launch of the Gender Thematic in Q1 under the banner of the Year of Inclusion 2017, we are committed to promoting the agenda of the 30% Club in our industry to further the role of women in our sector.

Here’s some thought provoking numbers to consider on this day:

In Ireland, the % of women directors on listed companies was 13% in 2016, 12% in 2015 and 9% in 2010, showing glacial pace of change.  By contrast, in the UK, the figures were 26% in 2016, compared to 12.5% in 2010.

41% of listed companies in Ireland  have no women directors.  In 2016, out of 35 new director appointments on Irish listed companies, only 6 were female.  Of 13 appointments to commercial state boards, only 2 were female.

II has 3 women on its 10 strong Board, underlying its commitment to its membership of and the ethos of the 30% Club.

More on the 30% Club:

30% Club Ireland in conjunction with DCU launched the research report Women in Management – The Leadership Pipeline at the recent 30% Chairs/ CEO Third Annual conference.  Key findings were that  while women represent 46% of all those in employment in Ireland, women continue to occupy significantly fewer senior management positions.  

Women are less likely than men to hold management positions in all sectors of Irish Industry. Indeed women’s participation in management was found to be inversely related to the leadership hierarchy, reflecting the “sticky floor” rather than the glass ceiling that many women encounter as they get stuck in the bottleneck of middle management.  

The research also indicates that senior women are more likely to be in areas of Marketing and HR and less likely to be in leadership positions in Finance, Sales, Operations or IT. 

Women in management today are the pipeline for the business leaders of the future.   The lack of female representation in key operational roles will continue to impact gender diversity at CEO and board level if not addressed.
 
The 30% club is hosting an event with a difference, targeting senior male executives around the topic of diversity and inclusion on April 5th. The event is free to attend but by invitation only. Places are limited.

In order to attend, your company must be a member of the 30% Club. If you are interested in finding out more about membership please contact me.

Laura Farrell,

Director of Membership Services & Communications – laura.farrell@insuranceireland.eu  / 01 64477787 or 086 4109472