Over the past six months, Ireland has seen a modest decline in new directorship appointments. However, one consistent trend remains: male directors continue to hold the majority of board positions across Irish companies. While the number of female directors has been gradually increasing, the data reinforces the ongoing need to address the gender imbalance at senior levels of corporate governance.
In H1 2024, a total of 29,642 new directorships were recorded. Of these, 16,151 were male and 7,690 were female, with the remaining 5,801 listed as unknown gender. The proportion of female directors has declined by 18% since 2024, while the number of male directors has also seen a decrease of 14%. Although the trend is downward for both, male directors still represent 52% of total directorships, while female directors represent 24%, this highlights that gender disparity still remains.
There has also been a slight year-on-year decrease in the number of first-time directors. In the first half of 2024, 17,066 first-time directors were recorded, with 12,434 having held prior directorships. In H1 2025, the number declined to 15,570, with 11,030 having previous experience-representing a notable 9% decrease year-on-year.
The gender imbalance is also evident among first-time directors. Of the new appointments in H1 2025, 7,279 were male and 3,898 were female. This reflects a 60:40 gender split-an increase in disparity compared to last year's 54:46 ratio.
Interestingly, the ongoing rise in company formations has contributed to more available directorship positions in Ireland. Based on these statistics, it is reasonable to forecast that the number of females occupying directorship roles in Ireland will continue to increase over the coming years.
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By Business Barometer.
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