The Minister of State with responsibility for equality has instructed every State board to put in place procedures to ensure at least 40 per cent of its members are women.
Frank Fahey announced the "historic" move yesterday, saying it was on foot on a Government decision to ensure equal gender representation on State boards. From now on nominating bodies must put forward both male and female options for appointments.
The Government would then choose from among nominees so as to ensure that the 40 per cent minimum representation from both genders is achieved, a Department of Justice spokesman said yesterday.
Mr Fahey said it would "transform the situation in relation to gender balance on State boards".
The National Women's Council of Ireland (NWCI) "warmly welcomed" the announcement. Director Joanna McMinn said the council had not known in advance of the announcement and added that she was "very pleased".
"I very much applaud the Minister and congratulate him. This is something we have been lobbying for for years. It just shows that if there is the political will and the political leadership things can change."
Mr Fahey said: "I am confident that, once implemented, this decision, within a relatively short period of time, sees us make significant progress towards reaching the target of a minimum of 40 per cent female representation on State Boards." He said the Government wanted to see more women in decision-making positions "in both the public and private sectors in Ireland".
Ms McMinn said, however, that it was only one side of the coin, and that the NWCI would like to see measures to ensure greater participation of women on non-State company boards and in politics. "We believe positive action is needed, mechanisms, perhaps a list system, to increase the number of women standing for election."
She said that arguments against such "affirmative action", which wanted jobs solely awarded on merit, assumed women were standing on an equal playing field with men.
"They are not. There is a culture of male domination in these institutions. They are not family friendly. There are issues of male resistance to more women at board level and in politics.
"Of course the big one is childcare," she added.
