Written answers

Tuesday, 10 November 2020

Department of Trade, Enterprise and Employment

Job Creation

Photo of Bernard DurkanBernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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187. To ask the Minister for Trade, Enterprise and Employment the number of job opportunities for women likely to emerge in the manufacturing or services sectors over the next 12 months; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [35405/20]

Photo of Leo VaradkarLeo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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According to the Central Statistics Office's (CSO) Labour Force Survey, female employees make up 29.5% of those employed in manufacturing and 53.1% of those employed in services. These proportions have not changed significantly in the past decade. Please see table below.

Table 1: Employment in manufacturing and services by gender, Q2 2020

Sector
Male (000's)
% Male
Female (000)'s)
% Female
Industry/ Manufacturing
204.2
70.5%
85.3
29.5%
Services
797.4
46.9%
904.3
53.1%

Source: CSO, Labour Force Survey

My Department and I, and our enterprise development agencies, are committed to optimising allavailable skills and talent throughout the country. Enterprise Ireland has placed a focus on increasing the number of women-led start-ups and the number of women in leadership positions in companies. To support this, in early 2020, Enterprise Ireland launched an Action Plan for Women in Businesswith the objective of:

- Increasing the number of women-led established companies growing internationally;

- Increasing the number of women in middle and senior management and leadership roles in Irish companies;

- Increasing the number of women becoming entrepreneurs; and

- Increasing the number of women-led start-ups with high growth potential.

The 2025 ambition for the delivery of the objectives is to achieve:

- 100 per cent increase the number of women-led companies growing internationally;

- 100 per cent increase in participation rate of women on Enterprise Ireland Management Development programmes;

- 50 per cent increase in women participants on start-up programmes;

- 50 per cent increase in Local Enterprise Office supports to women in business: and

- 30 per cent increase in the proportion of female founded High Potential Start-Ups.

Enterprise Ireland informs me that, in 2019, it had 38 women led start-ups.

In the most recent call under Enterprise Ireland's Competitive Start Fund in April 2020, 27 of the 117 applications put forward for evaluation had a female shareholder (minimum 25% shareholding) and had women in the lead management team.

Following evaluation, 38% of the successful applicants had a female shareholder (minimum 25% shareholding) and had women in the lead management team.

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