Women in Finance Charter: Fourth Annual Report

The Women in Finance Charter was launched in 2022 as a partnership between the trade associations Financial Services Ireland/Ibec, Insurance Ireland, BPFI and Irish Funds, and the Irish government. This year marks the fourth annual report. There are now 104 signatories to Ireland’s Women in Finance Charter, representing a wide range of firms in the financial sector. The Charter signatories have set targets to increase female representation at different employee levels within their firms. This report assesses the progress of firms towards these goals, as well as the actions and policies they have implemented in pursuit of these goals.

When firms join the Charter, they complete a baseline survey indicating the gender composition of their workforce, and set at least one target to improve the level of female representation. Targets can be set for any category of employees.1 Changes in female representation are tracked through an annual survey carried out in the first quarter of each year. Firms also identify barriers to improving female representation, as well as key actions they have taken to address gender imbalance. 

In 2026, 99 firms completed their annual survey, a response rate of 95 per cent. As of January 2026 these 99 firms employ over 71,000 people, with women making up 51 per cent of this overall workforce. This reflects the gender composition of employees in the financial sector nationally. Additionally, five firms of differing size and subsector took part in structured interviews to provide detail on experiences at the organisational level.