by HRHQ Editorial Team
Female participation in senior financial services roles has increased substantially over the last three years, according to updated figures from Ireland’s Women in Finance Charter. Compared to baseline levels when firms first signed up to the initiative, marked increases have been.
The findings are contained in the third annual report on Ireland’s Women in Finance Charter. The report has been compiled by the ESRI in collaboration with Banking and Payments Federation Ireland, Financial Services Ireland (part of Ibec), Insurance Ireland, and Irish Funds. The Charter is an industry initiative, supported by government under the Ireland for Finance Strategy, that seeks to improve female representation at all levels in financial services firms operating in Ireland.
Signatories to the Charter commit to setting targets for increased female representation. In January 2025 there were 100 signatory firms to the Charter, which accounted for over 72,000 employees – representing over half of all employees in the financial services sector.
Female representation has reached 50% of all employees in signatory firms, a marginal increase from the previous year (49.3%). While there has been a marked increase in female participation at senior level, the level of female participation at Junior Management and Technical/Professional roles remained static at 49%. There was a marginal decrease in the female share of Middle Management positions, falling from 47.6% to 47.1% as of January 2025.
The firms report several barriers to equal female representation, including low turnover rates in senior positions, fewer female job applicants, the specificity of key skills and experience required, and childcare costs and availability.
