Most Irish Businesswomen Surveyed Feel Gender Pay Legislation Will Improve Workplace Equality

New research conducted by the Irish office of Duff & Phelps, the global advisor that protects, restores and maximizes value for clients, found that 89 percent of Irish businesswomen surveyed believe that the introduction of new mandatory gender pay gap (GPG) reporting in Ireland will help improve gender equality in the workplace.

The proposed legislation will require certain employers to publish information relating to the pay of employees with a view to establishing whether there are differences in the pay of male and female employees. It is envisioned that increased pay transparency will, over time, improve fairness in the workplace. There are currently two bills under review; the Government Bill which would require all organizations with 250+ employees to publish information, and the Private Member's Bill, which would require organizations with 50+ employees to publish information. 73 percent of Irish businesswomen that took part in the research felt that the Private Members Bill was the better legislation.

According to the survey, almost half (46 percent) of all respondents believe that there has been no improvement in workplace gender equality over the last year. The research also indicated the preferred measures which could be taken by both Government and Irish businesses alike to promote greater workplace gender diversity. Survey participants believe that Government should make improvements in relation to subsidized childcare (80 percent), followed closely by shared paternity leave (76 percent). 

Businesses also have a role to play, with family-friendly and flexible working policies identified by 82 percent of businesswomen as the most important measure to achieving greater gender equality, closely followed by Women in Leadership programs (78 percent) and high-profile female role models (78 percent).

The survey also found that almost half (46 percent) of Irish professional women have considered leaving or have left previous positions due to the lack of equal opportunities in the workplace, while almost a third (32 percent) feel like they are less likely to be given credit for good work, or are held to a higher standard of performance compared to male counterparts. 

Commenting on the survey, Ciara O’Sullivan, Director at Duff & Phelps said, “While we are starting to see improved signs of gender equality in the workplace, there is clearly still a lot of work to be done. There is a clear thumbs up for gender pay legislation, with our research showing that there’s a demand for more organizations to be covered by the legislation. Ultimately there needs to be action taken to bring about more balance with various recommendations coming through the survey like shared paternity leave and family friendly working policies. Although there is a lot more to do, the conversation has started, and Ireland is moving in the right direction.”

About the research
The research was carried out on March 1 ahead of International Women’s Day 2019, with 108 senior level female professionals working across various disciplines in Ireland participating in the survey.

About Duff & Phelps
Duff & Phelps is the global advisor that protects, restores and maximizes value for clients in the areas of valuation, corporate finance, investigations, disputes, cyber security, compliance and regulatory matters, and other governance-related issues. We work with clients across diverse sectors, mitigating risk to assets, operations and people. With Kroll, a division of Duff & Phelps since 2018, our firm has nearly 3,500 professionals in 28 countries around the world. For more information, visit www.duffandphelps.ie.