Grant Thornton’s report highlights the challenges women face as they aspire to the CEO role.
Professional services firm Grant Thornton has released its Women in Business 2026 report, which shows that in Ireland, although progress has been made in the area of gender diversity in senior leadership, major challenges remain for women aiming to attain the title of CEO.
Between July and October 2025, Grant Thornton conducted interviews with employees in over 100 Irish businesses.
The findings are that while male leadership teams fell sharply from around 16pc to less than 7pc, women in the dataset were four times more likely to be a CFO (63pc) or HR director (58pc) than a CEO – and 30 more likely to hold those roles than to be chairman.
Representation of women in senior management roles in Ireland is set to rise to 41pc, up almost five percentage points from 2025 and ahead of the global average of just under 33pc, while the proportion of Irish businesses with no women in senior management is around 7pc.
Commenting on the research, Amanda Ward, head of consultancy at Grant Thornton, said: “It is encouraging to see Ireland not only outperforming global trends but also significantly reducing the number of male leadership teams.
“Progress is undeniable. But the data also shows that women continue to be overrepresented in certain leadership roles while underrepresented in CEO or chairman positions. The real sign of long-term progress will ultimately be when women are equally able to get top jobs.”
Equality
The report also revealed how gender balance it is very important for prospective and existing employees. The representation of women among the company’s senior ranks has been shown to be a major influence on the recruitment and retention of talent.
One in seven participating businesses reported that prospective employees had asked about the gender balance of the company’s senior management, or evidence of ongoing commitments to deliver gender equality.
Almost half of the contributors feel that there is equal treatment in the workplace due to gender equality strategies in place.
Ward said, “Research shows that gender diversity is not a box check.
“Businesses that embed meaningful strategies for gender equality not only strengthen decision-making at the top but also position themselves for long-term success.”
Steve Tennant, managing partner at Grant Thornton Ireland and EMEA CEO of Grant Thornton’s global advisory platform, added: “Expectations have moved forward – clients, investors and talent are increasingly judging firms on the integrity of their commitment to gender diversity.
“This is not an option. Organizations that fail to act will fall behind. While the progress made so far is encouraging, we need to keep the momentum going if we are to finally break the glass ceiling.”
Don’t miss out on the information you need to succeed. Sign up for Daily BriefSilicon Republic’s digest of must-know sci-tech news.
