There is a new urgency around gender diversity in leadership positions in Ireland, says a leading international expert.

Research Professor of Human Resource Management Carol Kulik of the University of South Australia Business School says despite policies that should have eased the problem, progress has slowed.

“The question today – in Ireland, as it is in many developed countries – is not whether women can or should work,” Professor Kulik said. “The question is whether the work women do is valued as much as the work men do and whether women’s work is as likely as men’s to lead to senior management roles.”

Kulik is due to speak at an event on gender equality in the Human Resources Research Centre in UCC tomorrow and will address Article 41.2.1 of the Irish Constitution and its place in modern Ireland. Article 41.2.1 states:

“In particular, the State recognises that by her life within the home, woman gives to the State a support without which the common good cannot be achieved.”

Kulik, along with many others, agrees that this is no longer reflective of women’s lived reality.

“Today more than 60 percent of adult women in Ireland are in paid employment,” Kulik said. “Those women face significant challenges in the form of gender pay gaps, a lack of flexibility, and obstacles to career advancement.”

Speaking ahead of the conference in Cork, Ronan Carbery of the HRRC said:

"Some countries are increasing regulatory requirements that monitor organisations gender diversity composition and practices. "Organisations are under pressure to increase the representation of women in senior management roles and narrow gender salary gaps. "It is these issues and many more that we will discuss at this conference tomorrow."