Cultural change across society is now key to nurturing future progress with gender balance in the Irish workplace, says one industry leader.<\/p>\n
Gillian Whelan, managing director and country manager of emagine Consulting, the IT and business consultancy with operations in Dublin and Cork, says that measures around gender pay balance and boardroom gender equity have helped.<\/p>\n
She adds, however, that a cultural shift in schools and throughout society is now needed for gender balance to make further progress, particularly as the nation pauses to reflect on International Women\u2019s Day, coinciding with Ireland\u2019s two referendums on family and care.<\/p>\n
\u201cCulture in organisations has a hugely important part to play, where an attempt is being made to address the issue, but more training is needed around unconscious bias for these changes to have the required impact,\u201d says Gillian.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe rewiring of people\u2019s thinking needs to start in schools as well as across society. In many families, women tend to take on the greater caring role as somebody has to stay at home because of childcare costs.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe could look at issues around tax incentives, childcare and child benefit payments to allow more women go to work.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u00a0Gillian said the new requirements around reporting on gender pay gaps have brought very welcome public scrutiny. As a result, companies of all sizes are becoming more aware of reputational damage resulting from being seen to have pay disparity between men and women working in similar roles.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is very useful to have information available to inform the policy decisions of Government and policymakers. You need access to good information if you\u2019re going to address barriers,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Data published by the Central Statistics Office offers some insight on how much change has followed since Irish companies began reporting on gender pay gaps and boardroom equity.<\/p>\n
CSO recently produced interesting stats comparing the shift from 2019 to 2023 for men and women in senior roles. In 2019, 92.6% of chair roles were held by men versus 7.4% women. By 2023, this was 81.3% men versus 18.7% women.<\/p>\n
In 2019, 80.4% of board members were men, with 19.6% women. By 2023, this had moved to 75.4% male and 24.6% female. For CEOs, the 88.5% male and 11.5% female in 2019 moved to 81% male and 19% female by 2023.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe margins are very big and the progress may seem slow, but we would be seeing even slow progress without legislation. The share of females on boards would certainly have been lower without public reporting on the issues,\u201d said Gillian.<\/p>\n
\u201cReporting on gender pay disparity is an important issue, but we need to look at a myriad of cultural and policy reasons behind these gaps. When you look at boys-only schools, the subjects on offer seem to be very much akin to the old gender-biased roles for men in society. We need to start there.\u201d<\/p>\n
Gillian Whelan has a reputation for being a straight talker, very direct and fearless in her leadership style. As the MD of tech consultancy Aspira, Gillian led 250 employees and contractors based in Ireland, as well as engaging with colleagues in the Netherlands and Portugal.<\/p>\n
Last year, Aspira changed its brand to emagine Consulting following its merger with Danish firm emagine, which employs over 800 people generating over \u20ac600m in annual revenues, headquartered in Copenhagen, with offices across France, Germany, Ireland, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Sweden, UK and India.<\/p>\n
\u201cAs the leader of a large tech company, I\u2019m often asked questions about women having to break through a glass ceiling,\u201d she said. \u201cI\u2019ll be honest, luck has played a big part in where I am today.<\/p>\n
\u201cI work hard and, yes, I suppose that outwardly I may come across as fearless to others. You have to be fearless and hardworking, but you must also be lucky. What I would say is that I have many hardworking, innovative women around me in my peer group.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen I look across my business, I see around 50:50 men and women. Balance is very important. It gives people hope. It really matters\u00a0\u2014 not just to the people who work in the company, it also matters to the general public.<\/p>\n
\u201cBusinesses are very conscious of their reputation, but it\u2019s not just about reputation. A lot of research shows that when your business is more diverse and balanced, your retention rates are better and your team is more productive.<\/p>\n
\u201cWomen bring a different perspective. You need greater diversity to solve a greater range of problems. Organisations should really see diversity as being good for business. Balance should be framed as a business opportunity. Ultimately, it\u2019s about profits.\u201d<\/p>\n
Gillian also notes that in job interviews, women tend to exhibit greater self-doubt than men. When women have six out of ten skills required for a job, they\u2019ll focus on talking about what they can and can\u2019t do.<\/p>\n
\u201cAs a result, for women, the interview often tends to focus on their proven experience, their past performance. I must have interviewed hundreds of people over the years.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn interviews, men are more confident. They focus on what they can do. Men focus on their potential rather than their past performance. Faced with something new, they very often believe they will be able to do it.\u201d<\/p>\n
In terms of industry sectors, the stats single out financial services, insurance and real estate as having the greatest gender pay disparity. Most men are also paid notably higher in many tech and ICT roles.<\/p>\n
\u201cTo be fair, all companies are now trying to do the right thing,\u201d said Gillian. \u201cProgress has been made, but we still have a long way to go.\u201d<\/p>\n