A new group launched in Dublin last night will work towards increasing female participation on the boards of Ireland’s top 25 companies to 30 per cent by 2020.

The 30% Club, which was founded by Helena Morrissey in Britain in 2010, will encourage gender balance in company culture and decision-making processes in Ireland. It will be led by Marie O'Connor, a partner with PwC. She will be assisted by Vivienne Jupp, chairwoman of CIE and former global managing director of Accenture; Lochlann Quinn, chairman and board member of ESB; Nicky Hartery, chairman of CRH; Gary Kennedy, chairman of Greencore Group; and Michael Buckley, chairman of DCC and former group chief executive of AIB.

The club has had some success in the UK, where the proportion of female directors on the FTSE 100 has risen from 12.5 per cent in 2010 to 20.8 per cent this year. It hopes to reach 30 per cent next year.

At the launch, Ms Morrissey, whose day job is chief executive of Newton, the global investment management subsidiary of BNY Mellon, said that the Republic lags behind the UK, with female participation on the boards of the top 25 companies in Ireland at just 13 per cent – hence the longer-term aim of reaching 30 per cent by 2020.

FIONA REDDAN