The majority of board memberships, executive and non-executive are still held by men
DESPITE THE changing nature of gender relations in the workplace over the last few decades, corporate Ireland remains a predominantly male domain.
An analysis of the board configuration of companies listed on the main securities market of the Irish Stock Exchange (see panel) shows that the majority of board memberships, both at executive and non-executive level, are held by men.
Ten of the 32 companies analysed have no female representation at board level. Five have one woman executive director, while 18 have one or more women non-executive directors.
In terms of representation by percentage, a recent study by Grant Thornton found that only 3.7 per cent of all executive directorships and 8 per cent of non-executive directorships of the companies listed on the Iseq’s main securities market are held by women.
This compares to figures of 4.9 per cent and 12.2 per cent respectively for FTSE 100 companies. There is also a wide disparity across companies in relation to gender representation on boards.
Aer Lingus, for example, leads the way, with three women non-executives on its board – Danuta Gray, Mella Frewen and Nicola Shaw.
In contrast, Ryanair, the second largest company on the Iseq in terms of market capitalisation, has no female board members. The low-cost airline is not alone – many of the Iseq’s most familiar names, such as food group Kerry, biotech business Elan, insurer FBD, financial services group IFG and shipping business Irish Continental Group have neither executive nor non-executive female directors on their boards
More typically, most listed companies have appointed one female non-executive director, eg Paddy Power, Smurfit Kappa, and Tullow Oil.
For CRH, Glanbia, and Greencore, on the other hand, boardroom representation by women is by a female executive director. CRH’s Maeve Carton and Glanbia’s Siobhán Talbot are both chief financial officers of their companies and sit on the board.
Greencore’s head of convenience foods, UK, Diane Walker, is an executive board member. None of the three companies has any female non-executive directors.
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GILLIAN BOWLER
Best known as the founder of Budget Travel, Gillian Bowler has been one of the most recognisable names in the Irish corporate world in recent decades. In December, she announced she was to step down as chairman of Irish Life Permanent, a position she had held since 2004. She had been on the board since 1999. She also retired from the board of Grafton earlier this year after more than 15 years as non-executive director. Ms Bowler recently launched a new travel company, clickandgo.com
ANNE HERATY
Originally from Co Longford, 51-year-old Heraty began her career as a telesales worker at Xerox, and then moved to Grafton Recruitment before setting up her own company, CPL in 1989. The company, which is It is listed on the ESM, was floated 10 years later. A former winner of the Ernst and Young Entrepreneur of the Year, she has also served as a non-executive director of Anglo Irish Bank, resigning in January 2009. She is a former board member of Forfás, Bord na Móna, and the Irish Stock Exchange.
DANUTA GRAY
In October, 52-year-old Gray announced her intention to resign as chief executive of O2 Ireland after nine years in the job, though she remains as non-executive chairwoman of Telefónica O2 Ireland.
Originally from Britain, Ms Gray has been a non-executive director of Aer Lingus since August 2006. She served as a non-executive member of Irish Life Permanent’s board from 2004 until May this year. She is also on the board of children’s charity Barretstown.
ROSE HYNES
Rose Hynes has been a non-executive director of Bank of Ireland since 2007. A solicitor by profession, 53-year-old Hynes held senior executive positions with GPA and at aircraft leasing company debis Air Finance. In 2009 she was appointed chairwoman of Bord Gáis, where she had served as a director since 2006. She was non-executive director of Fyffes from 2003 to 2007 and has been a non-executive director of Total Produce since 2006.
She is a former board member of Shannon Airport Authority.
BREEGE O’DONOGHUE
A non-executive director of CC since 2004, Breege O’ Donoghue (67) is also a senior executive at retailer Penneys and chairwoman of the Labour Relations Commission. She was previously a director of An Post and Aer Rianta.
She is a director of Ibec.
RÓISÍN BRENNAN
Former chief executive of IBI Corporate Finance, 46-year-old Róisín Brennan has been a non-executive director at DCC since 2005. She is executive chairman of IBI Corporate Finance, and served as a non-executive director of the Irish Takeover Panel during 2000/2001. A law graduate from UCD, Brennan qualified as a chartered accountant with Arthur Andersen.
ANNETTE FLYNN
Annette Flynn (45) was appointed non-executive director of Grafton Group earlier this year. She is also a non-executive director of United Drug, having served as an executive director of the company for seven years. Before joining United Drug, she previously held senior management positions in Ireland and overseas with Kerry Group.
LUCY GAFFNEY
Lucy Gaffney (51) has been Denis O’Brien’s representative on the board of Independent News Media since 2009. A founding director of O’Brien’s mobile telecoms business Digicel, she previously held senior positions at Esat Telecom. She is chairwoman of Communicorp, Ireland’s largest independent radio broadcaster, also an O’Brien company.
She has also held senior positions with the Irish Press Group and Bell Advertising.
