IMF chief and taoiseach want more females on financial boards to make better decisions
MORE women on bank boards may lead to better decision-making and less risk-taking, Leo Varadkar said yesterday.
The Taoiseach made the comments after the head of the International Monetary Fund urged the Government to ensure greater gender equality at the top.
IMF director Christine Lagarde was in Dublin to open an event marking 20 years since the adoption of the euro single currency.
She also held a private meeting with Mr Varadkar before speaking at Government Buildings.
The Taoisech said: “Madame Lagarde told me about the important work she is doing to advance gender equality, including in placing it at the centre of the IMF’S work.
“In employment terms, the participation rate for Irish women has recovered in recent years, but lags behind many of our partners and peers. This needs to change.
“This month, the Government will approve the General Scheme of Gender
Pay Gap Bill which will promote transparency on wage levels – at first for those with more than 250 employees, but extending over time to smaller employers.
“We will also establish a business-led group charged Leo Varadkar & Ms Lagarde with increasing representation of women on boards of the largest Irish publicly listed companies.
“For State boards we’re already making good progress, 52% of those appointed in 2017 were female, bringing average female representation to just under 40% by year-end.
“As Mme Lagarde pointed out we need to take a look at our financial institutions and our banks to make sure we have greater gender equality those boards as on well and I would be very much of the same view.
“Having diversity and gender balance on those boards will perhaps lead to better decisionmaking and fewer unnecessary risks being taken in the future.”
He added the IMF expects to publish its annual report on Ireland soon, warning growing international tensions present a “real risk to economies”.
He said: “We agreed that in a trade war, there are no winners.”
On her third visit to Ireland, Ms Lagarde hailed Ireland’s economic revival.
She added: “We also discussed challenges on the horizon for which Ireland has to make sure it has a good fiscal position to resist potential shocks.”