The gender pay gap remains high in financial services firms with a 16% average wage differential between male and female employees at the companies surveyed in the Women in Finance Charter’s Annual Report.
Research Assistant at the ESRI and co-author of the report Eva Slevin said gender pay gap reporting is an “important tool for change” to highlight where gaps are greatest and to allow firms to benchmark their performance
“Having declined in 2024, the gender pay and bonus gaps stalled among signatory firms over the last year — and have even widened on some measures. Gender pay gap reporting is now a requirement for all firms above 50 employee,” she said.
She also noted that the Pay Transparency Directive, when it is fully implemented in Ireland, will help people to make informed job decisions and will strengthen employee bargaining power in hiring and promotion discussions.
The data found that female leadership rates are improving across financial services among Charter signatories.
It found that the average proportion of women on boards of signatory firms increased by 2.1 percentage points last year compared to the previous year to 38.4%.
While the average proportion of women at executive committee level increased by 3.2 percentage points to 34%.
In total, 99 firms contributed to the 2026 annual report, representing more than 71,000 employees, with women making up 51% of those workers.
The findings are part of the Charter’s Annual Report 2026, which is compiled by the ESRI and financed by the Government of Ireland/Department of Finance.
Among five signatory five signatory firms interviewed additionally for the study, childcare infrastructure, both availability and cost, was identified as a significant barrier to female advancement in their sector.
The launch of the report coincided with the introduction of the new Chair of the Women in Finance Charter Steering Group for 2026-2028, Cathy Bryce who is the Managing Director of Capital Markets at AIB.
Ms Bryce outlined the progress being made: “The publication of this report today is an important moment, but we recognise that the sustained effort of both industry and Government is vital throughout the year to deliver on these ambitions.
“I look forward to working with signatories, industry and the public sector to drive further success in the months ahead,” she said.
The report also asked firms to identify barriers they face in improving female representation at their respective companies.
Respondents said supporting the career development of existing employees was identified as crucial for increasing female representation while internal appointments to managerial positions were more gender balanced (51% female share) than external appointments (44%).
Additionally those surveyed said the actions ranked as most effective by firms were: female career development/ leadership training; sponsorship and mentoring; as well as seeking better gender balance in succession planning.
