Breaking the glass ceiling

A recent survey by management specialists, InterIm Solutions, found that just 6 per cent of Irish firms have a female CEO, although women account for one-third of those in full-time employment.

The survey, which covered 140 of Ireland's top 1,000 businesses, discovered that 71 per cent of women respondents did not believe in the phenomenon of the "glass ceiling" which restricts women's chances of promotion. But only 21 per cent expected the number of female managers in their organisation to increase over the coming five years.

The survey shows that while the number of firms where women occupy 30 or more of management positions has increased from 14 per cent to 23 per cent in the last five years, at board level women still account for less than 10 per cent of directorships in 72 per cent of those surveyed.

Human resources continues to attract the highest level of female managers at 50 per cent, followed by marketing and finance - both at 29 per cent - and sales at 19 per cent. Lowest levels of female managers are found in IT (9 per cent), production management (7 per cent), and engineering (2 per cent).