This chapter covers the general governance landscape for enterprises – how representative board of managements are of both sexes and the extent to which there is enterprise related crime. In this chapter we learn that just under a quarter of members of Boards of Directors are female, while just over 30% of senior executives are female. The Services sector has the highest percentage of women in senior executive roles and the Construction sector has the smallest proportion of women in senior executive roles. There are currently a relatively small number of companies publishing sustainability reports, but the number is increasing and is likely to rise further as Corporate Sustainability reporting becomes more prevalent.
The Gender Balance in Business Survey provides statistics on gender representation in top management teams and Boards of Directors in Ireland. Large enterprises (250 or more employees) were asked to provide information on the members of both their senior executive team and Board of Directors on 01 January 2023. Almost 700 enterprises were surveyed online, of which 69% completed the survey.
In 2023, 24.6% of members of Boards of Directors in Ireland were female, an increase from almost 21.8% in 2021. Similarly, there was an increase in female chairpersons, from 14.0% in 2021 to 18.7% in 2023. Almost one in five (19.0%) of chief executive officers (CEOs) were female in 2023 compared with more than 13.4% in 2021. There was a slight increase in the overall number of female senior executives in 2023, rising to 30.4% in 2023 from 29.7% in 2021. See Figure 7.1 and Table 7.1.
| X-axis label | Female | Male |
|---|---|---|
| Chairpersons | 18.7 | 81.3 |
| Boards of directors | 24.6 | 75.4 |
| Chief executive officers (CEOs) | 19 | 81 |
| Senior executives | 30.4 | 69.6 |
| Chief financial officers (CFOs) | 25.7 | 74.3 |
In 2023, almost 4 in 10 (38.2%) of persons appointed to senior executive positions who were in their role for less than one year were female, while 26.3% of senior executives in their roles for five or more years were also female. In 2023, the proportion of long serving male senior executives with five or more years in the position had dropped from 75.9% in 2021 to 73.7% in 2023. See Figure 7.2 and Table 7.2.
| X-axis label | Male | Female |
|---|---|---|
| Less than 1 year (2019) | 65.8 | 34.2 |
| Less than 1 year (2021) | 63.7 | 36.3 |
| Less than 1 year (2023) | 61.8 | 38.2 |
| 1-2 years (2019) | 69.9 | 30.1 |
| 1-2 years (2021) | 64.8 | 35.2 |
| 1-2 years (2023) | 64.9 | 35.1 |
| 3-4 years (2019) | 69.6 | 30.4 |
| 3-4 years (2021) | 68.7 | 31.3 |
| 3-4 years (2023) | 65.1 | 34.9 |
| 5 or more years (2019) | 75.1 | 24.9 |
| 5 or more years (2021) | 75.9 | 24.1 |
| 5 or more years (2023) | 73.7 | 26.3 |
The Other Service Activities sector (which includes activities of membership organisations, repair of personal and household goods, and other personal services) at 43.5% had the highest proportion of female senior executives in 2023. This was followed by Accommodation and Food Service Activities (36.8%) and Financial and Insurance (33.9%). Although the Construction sector had the lowest level of female representation in senior executive roles in 2023 at 13.4%, it has increased from 9.5% in 2021. See Figure 7.3 and Table 7.3.
| X-axis label | Female | Male |
|---|---|---|
| Industry (B to E) | 28.7 | 71.3 |
| Construction (F) | 13.4 | 86.6 |
| Wholesale and retail trade (G) | 31.2 | 68.8 |
| Transportation and storage (H) | 26.2 | 73.8 |
| Accommodation and food service activities (I) | 36.8 | 63.2 |
| Information and communication (J) | 32.3 | 67.7 |
| Financial and Insurance (K) | 33.9 | 66.1 |
| Real estate and Professional, scientific and technical activities (L + M) | 32.7 | 67.3 |
| Administrative and support service activities (N) | 29.6 | 70.4 |
| Other service activities (R + S) | 43.5 | 56.5 |
| Services (G to S, excl. O, P and Q) | 32.4 | 67.6 |
In 2023, 24.7% of enterprises had at least 40% female representation on their Boards of Directors compared with 18.4% in 2021. Almost three in ten (29.9%) Service enterprises had met this target compared with just 14.5% of enterprises in Industry & Construction.
Almost three in ten (29.4%) enterprises had 40% or more female representation at senior executive level. The Services sector had the highest proportion of enterprises with this level of female representation with 36.1%, while 32.8% of Wholesale and Retail Trade firms had 40% or more female representation. In the Industry & Construction sectors, 16.4% of enterprises had 40% or more female representation in executive management. See Figure 7.4 and Table 7.4.
| X-axis label | At least 40% female senior executives | At least 40% female board of directors |
|---|---|---|
| Industry (B to E) & construction (F) | 16.4 | 14.5 |
| Wholesale and retail trade (G) | 32.8 | 25.9 |
| Services (H to S, excl. O, P and Q) | 36.1 | 29.9 |
| All sectors | 29.4 | 24.7 |
The United Nations Trade and Development (UNCTAD) saw a slight rise in the number of Irish companies publishing sustainability reports from 35 in 2021 to 36 in 2022. The reports aim to collect data on green investment, waste generation, water stress, gender balance and other ESG topics. See Figure 7.5 and Table 7.5.
| X-axis label | Reports |
|---|---|
| 2018 | 24 |
| 2019 | 30 |
| 2020 | 34 |
| 2021 | 35 |
| 2022 | 36 |
The number of business related crimes increased from 1,503 in 2022 to 1,649 in 2023, primarily due to increases in investment fraud and money laundering. However, the number of business related crimes recorded in 2023 was lower than the totals recorded in both 2020 and 2021. See Figure 7.6 and Table 7.6.
| Business related crime | |
| 2018 | 1132 |
| 2019 | 1484 |
| 2020 | 1831 |
| 2021 | 1909 |
| 2022 | 1503 |
| 2023 | 1649 |
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