Gender Balance on State Boards in Ireland: To the Forefront of Progress or Concealing the Status Quo?

Abstract

Abstract In this article, we examine female appointments to government-owned corporations, called State Sponsored Boards (SSBs), in Ireland over a twenty-eight-year period, to analyze the extent to which gender parity has been achieved using voluntary gender targets. Using data from thirty-four SSBs, we found that overall figures relating to the achievement of gender parity on SSBs are masking the reality of female representation on these boards. We have demonstrated that the high concentration of females on particular boards is increasing the overall average gender representation figures, and as a result, a high proportion of boards are not meeting their gender targets. This research provides evidence of the importance of taking a more nuanced approach to examining gender diversity on boards as a whole.