Ms Gillian Harford:

I thank the committee for the invitation today. My colleague and I represent the 30% Club, a global campaign supported by chairs and CEOs committed to greater gender balance at senior levels for better business outcomes. Our focus is on engaging chairs and CEOs, influencing progress at a national level and supporting a talent pipeline for sustainable progress. As a business-led body, we share a common goal with the Citizens' Assembly to see increased gender balance in all senior decision-making fora, whether commercial or State-led. We strongly believe that in the business arena, better and more sustainable progress is made when organisations are actively encouraged to be accountable for progress, particularly when the evidence supports better business outcomes. For example, when the 30% Club was established in Ireland in 2015, the percentage of women on ISEQ 20 boards was just under 12.5%. Based on the voluntary actions taken by those organisations, most of which are supporters of the 30% Club, together with the voluntary target approach adopted by Balance for Better Business in 2018, that percentage in 2022 now stands at just over 32%. Ireland moved from 17th place out of the 27 EU member states to 11th in 2021. This achievement reflected not just keeping pace with European counterparts primarily driven by quotas, but also overtaking them. In the latest European Women on Boards report, 50% of the Irish companies listed on the STOXX Europe 600 have a board gender balance above the European average. Critical to the talent pipeline, the Central Statistics Office, CSO, gender balance in business survey 2021 data show that almost 30% of senior executive posts were held by women, a figure well in advance of many of our European counterparts.

There is more to be done and progress is not consistent across every organisation and sector. Targets are preferable and a sustainable way to achieve gender balance and set out a floor for progress, whereas quotas are more likely to set a ceiling with no incentive for extending beyond the mandatory requirement. When quotas were introduced for board membership were introduced in Norway in 2006, the number of women in executive roles reduced as organisations focused on board compliance. These figures have yet to recover.

Our research has identified that organisations that are more focused on voluntary gender balance as part of their business strategy have a focus that extends beyond the boardroom and moves equally into the early- and mid-career talent pipelines. If we are to prioritise changing the face of decision-making executive teams in a sustainable way, we need to focus on removing the barriers to progress for mid-career men and women in equal measure, and for all women. This is our most critical talent challenge. Quotas for boardroom representation will not drive change in this area. The current methodology applied by Balance for Better Business of extending targets to private companies is already starting to yield results and should be given time to demonstrate progress before quotas should be considered as the only option. We recognise, however, that there is a lack of data beyond listed organisations and we are supportive of initiatives to improve gender representation reporting, whether as part of gender pay gap, CSO data collection or otherwise, as the benefit of data is that we can track progress and pinpoint areas for action. Ultimately, what gets measured gets done.

On the additional recommendations under consideration, while we strongly welcome the focus on gender balance in competitive public processes for funding, we are less confident that applying a specific quota requirement as a prerequisite would drive real change. Instead, we ask that consideration be given to the requirement to include information on gender representation, targets and progress as part of an application process as a demonstration of action.

For recommendation No. 23, we are proud to count many State bodies within our supporter group. We believe State and semi-State bodies have the opportunity and responsibility to lead by example. We support the proposal that any form of family leave should be equally available to elected representatives in delivery of their paid responsibilities.

For recommendation No. 25, we believe workplaces should be encouraged, rather than required, to develop, resource, implement and monitor gender-neutral recruitment and promotion policies and practices. The introduction of a best practice code around recruitment practices, as well as education programmes encouraging gender-neutral selection and promotion, would be more beneficial in supporting the range of scenarios faced in different sectors of industry, rather than a one-size-fits-all assumption. It would also facilitate the opportunity to change and grow as our understanding of best practice continues.

In business, we recognise the value of an integrated approach when we focus on diversity and inclusion, D and I, matters.

Gender equality is not a minority issue and, as such, it needs specific collaboration to focus on all women in terms of access to education, social policy, enterprise and jobs, rather than in a limited few areas. Until such time as women are equally advantaged in their roles within society and the workplace and as decision makers at the most senior echelons, we support the application of resources driving cross-government co-ordination of actions to improve gender equality issues in a more cohesive and effective way.

I thank the committee for its invitation.