EDI in the Irish workplace: How far have we come?

Since our last report in 2022, have Irish workplaces improved in terms of the level of equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI) related policies they have adopted and is there more to do?

The 30% Club is a global campaign supported by chairs and CEOs of medium to large organisations committed to gender balance at the most senior levels – because they know it drives better business outcomes. It was established in Ireland in 2015; today more than 300 of Ireland’s largest organisations – across all employment sectors – are members, representing close to 700,000 employees.

However, 30% Club country executive Gillian Hartford says it is difficult to definitively review the progress of EDI policies and implementation.

“Typically organisations have choice and flexibility about what they might categorise as diversity and inclusion policies,” says Hartford.

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She says the more experienced an organisation is, the more it will tend to include EDI policies within its overall approach.

“For example, the more companies mature into this space, the more they realise they need to have this in their customer strategy, in their procurement strategy and embedded in their talent and succession strategy,” she says. “It might start as a stand-alone initiative but it soon moves across all areas of the organisation.”

Priyanka Jaiswal, director for people, proposition and reward at telecommunications and internet service provider Three, which operates in Ireland as a subsidiary of CK Hutchison Holdings, speaks of all decision making at her company being viewed through an EDI lens.

“Our business leaders speak that language, our decision makers use that language – all ensuring that the [EDI] agenda is kept at a high level,” she says. “Since last year we have published our gender pay report for the first time and made commitments around gender targets and improved gender policies. In the future, we are preparing for greater pay transparency, which we feel is going to support more fair and consistent pay decisions for all employee groups.”

Three believes that making pay structures transparent will help not only women but also other marginal groups to negotiate their salaries equipped with the relevant data, says Jasiwal.

“There are people from the majority employee groups who are better able to negotiate their salaries. But I believe if we give women transparency and enough information then they will be better able to negotiate. I’m a big advocate of pay structure transparency,” she adds.

Hartford dates the progress in EDI policies and implementation from 2015, which she views as a tipping point following on from the Celtic Tiger.

“We’ve seen a huge shift since 2015. It’s now quite rare to see companies not talking about it or worrying that they are not making progress,” she says. “Ireland is actually in the top five of the 30% chapters around the world. We’ve actually reached 30 per cent on boards and in senior management.”

Hartford attributes the Irish success to several factors. Firstly, full employment means companies that do not consider diversity and inclusion will struggle to find talent, she argues. “Second is the fact that businesses recognise that EDI drives better business outcomes,” she says. The “strong national partnership between business and Government” is something she identifies as another essential element.

Recent research by McKinsey and PwC highlights improved performance and profitability outcomes when EDI is implemented. However, increasingly performance improvements go far beyond figures, with new data showing that diverse leadership is bringing with it better product design, more innovation and even expansion to new markets.

“This is more interesting than just numbers alone,” says Hartford.

Christina Fox, VP business support with Starkraft, a Norwegian-headquartered innovative energy supplier in Ireland, sees the benefits of Scandinavian workplace culture.

“Naturally, local Irish employment and EDI policies are in place but [the Scandinavian influence] means we can lean into best practice and have access to managers used to implementing the best,” says Fox.

She has experienced first hand the progressive approach employed by her company; she has just returned from maternity leave but, while out, her manager told her about a new position in the company, that of VP, and encouraged her to apply.

“I did and was successful – but what was even more impressive was that I achieved the promotion while still on maternity leave,” says Fox.

Starkraft as an entity has always had a one-third female to two-thirds male employee ratio in Ireland, largely driven by its emphasis on engineering, but over the past two years it has increased its female leadership to a third as well.

Fox found as she returned to both work and her new position that the culture at Starkraft has given her great flexibility in her role.

“Three colleagues were on maternity leave last year and we have brought in ideas in addition to paid benefits,” she says. “For example, we now include reboarding for employees returning after maternity leave to catch them up on what has changed since they left. We also support flexible starting hours, as babies and work are not always in the same time zone. We are also looking at the other end of the spectrum and including menopause training and support.”

Returning from maternity leave has also given Fox fresh appreciation and perspective.

“We are looking after our young interns better, we are focused on being family friendly and we are promoting people in the more mature age brackets,” she says.

But implementing EDI requires work and resolve.

Jasiwal concludes: “In an ideal world individuals are not limited by their gender, ethnicity or backgrounds and have equal opportunities to succeed. And this requires continuous effort, adaptability, and a commitment to the principles of diversity, inclusion and belonging.”