Gender-balancing for better business

Established in 2015, the 30% Club Ireland now comprises 250 of the country’s largest employers, across the public, private and State sectors, representing more than 600,000 employees in Ireland who are committed to greater gender balance at board and executive levels.

“For organisations to implement a diversity strategy, gender is the best place to start,” says country executive Gillian Harford. “You can see the numbers and track progress quite easily. If you are making progress in that area, then it’s much easier in the others.”

She believes progress is being made in relation to gender balance. “It is slow, slower than it should be,” she says. “The UK is a bit further along than Ireland, but things are changing. Three or four years ago there was a much lower number of companies talking about it. It’s almost impossible now to find a medium- to large-sized company which isn’t talking about it.”

This is being driven by a number of factors, most notably the bottom line. “McKinsey has done a lot of work in this space and their research shows improved performance for companies which have gender-balanced senior management teams. Regulators are actively promoting diversity as it leads to better governance and reduced risk. It delivers a better return on invested capital, higher value for shareholders, and a better environment for employees.”

The journey starts with a broad focus across the organisation, identifying gaps and opportunities for change. “The conversation moves to inclusion, ensuring all employees feel welcome and valued,”says Harford. “Diversity means you are here, but inclusion means you are heard, and so many organisations are focusing on ensuring everyone has a sense of belonging. This creates a modern workplace where everyone can bring the best of their whole self to work; where employee-led groups celebrate Pride, wellbeing, differing abilities, and integrate life and work in a more balanced way.”

But that’s the easy part, according to Harford. It’s what happens after general diversity and inclusion initiatives have been completed that counts. “It moves on to another ‘i’ – influence,”she says. “This is the challenge of achieving balance, not just across the general employee base but in positions of genuine influence – senior decision-making roles, strategic roles, revenue-generation roles – ensuring diversity in the positions of power that can change and drive a successful organisation.”

Gender Balance Survey

The Gender Balance Survey issued by the CSO in May of this year highlighted that women occupy only 28 per cent of senior executive roles in Ireland compared with 72 per cent for men. But the reality could be even worse than that when it comes to the most powerful positions.

“We know from additional market research that this figure is heavily influenced by specialist functions such as HR, legal and marketing, and the ratio drops significantly when it comes to female representation across revenue-generating functions,” says Harford. “There is no data available for diversity beyond gender. Achieving greater balance at the most senior decision-making levels in organisations is where the real economic value-add occurs – and that balance of influence is the critical next step in the diversity journey.”

In these circumstances, how can real change come about? “Change, with pace, can’t happen organically – it needs focused planning and action,” she adds. “Many organisations are starting by setting internal targets for change. Our Making the Change Count study of female representation in financial services identified that more than a third of respondent organisations are now setting targets for senior representation. More advanced organisations are setting further targets by function, to address the challenge of better senior representation in commercial as well as specialist decision-making roles.”

But there are hopeful signs. “We are now seeing longer-term succession planning, with many organisations carrying out diversity gap analyses in the senior pipeline and putting in earlier interventions through ‘building or buying in’ talent to ensure better readiness as roles are replaced in the future. Achieving balance at the most senior decision-making levels is also being driven by external forces, with initiatives such as the Government-backed review, Balance for Better Business, outlining targets for balance on boards of listed organisations and signalling targets for senior leadership as a potential next step.”