PRESS RELEASE: New Report Highlights Crucial Role of Upskilling in Tackling Gender Imbalance in Ireland’s Health Technology Sector

The report comes at a pivotal time of expansion for Ireland’s STEM industries. The study found that despite a skills shortage in the sector, women remain significantly underrepresented, especially in leadership and technical roles. While the number of female STEM graduates in Ireland is increasing, just one in four STEM professionals in the workforce are women. This disparity is even more pronounced for leadership roles, where women hold just 19% of CEO positions in large enterprises.


Among the key recommendations outlined in the report are:
· Provision of training and education opportunities for women with leadership aspirations, to address skills and qualification gaps that may be hindering career progression.
· Implementation of unconscious bias training within businesses to foster a more inclusive workplace culture.
· Adoption of flexible working policies to support better work-life balance and attract a diverse workforce.
· Development of structured career pathways to facilitate the advancement and retention of female talent.
· Use of the ‘Best Practice Checklist’ developed by the study to guide companies in achieving their gender equity objectives.

Commenting on the importance of the research, Dave Flynn, Skillnet Ireland Director of Business Networks, said: “This report highlights the critical need to strengthen and diversify Ireland’s STEM talent pipeline, particularly within the rapidly evolving health technology sector. This sector is vital to Ireland’s economy, and ensuring it is inclusive and future-ready is a key priority for Skillnet Ireland. We are committed to supporting women in STEM by providing targeted development opportunities that empower individuals and drive innovation.”

Dr Ann O’Connell, Head of Funded Projects for Medtech and Engineering at Ibec, and Network manager for Irish Medtech Skillnet, said: “This report re-emphasises the need for gender equity across the Health Technology sectors and offers informed insights to support companies in developing an effective gender representation strategy. The underrepresentation of women and girls in STEM is a lost opportunity for innovation, growth, and global impact at a time when the world faces unprecedented health challenges. As the sector continues to expand, this report will serve as a key resource, guiding efforts toward fostering a more balanced representation of gender within the health technology ecosystem.”

Jackie Murphy, Vice President, Manufacturing Plant Manager, Alcon and Chair of Irish Medtech, said "Continuing to promote gender equality in STEM is vital for advancing women in the industry. When women are empowered and given equal opportunities, they contribute significantly to innovation and leadership. Their advancement not only enriches the field but also drives progress and sets a precedent for future generations. Undertaking the work in generating a report like this baselines the current state of play and importantly acknowledges the progress made to date but also serves as a motivator to drive towards greater advancement and progression for women within STEM and industry as a whole"


The report revealed that girls in Ireland continue to opt out of STEM subjects at an early stage, with only 29% of girls choosing a STEM subject beyond maths or science in secondary school. Despite earning STEM degrees, women often face barriers to career progression, with leadership representation significantly lagging male counterparts. Industry respondents cited a lack of flexible work options, unconscious bias, and limited mentorship opportunities as key obstacles preventing women from advancing in health technology careers. Meanwhile, 40% of surveyed companies lack formal gender equity strategies, highlighting an urgent need for industry-wide policy shifts.

A total of 207 health technology industry representatives and 49 educators participated in this research. Their feedback underscores the importance of early intervention in schools, structured mentorship programmes, and company-led diversity initiatives.

The full ‘Empowering Women in STEM’ report is now available for download at https://www.ibec.ie/EmpoweringWomeninSTEM

Ends

https://www.ibec.ie/connect-and-learn/media/2025/05/14/skillnet

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About Connected Health Skillnet
Connect Heath Skillnet is an enterprise-led, learning and development network established specifically to address the current and future skills needs arising from the convergence of the medtech, pharma, ICT and software sectors in the dynamic field of digital health. The network addresses both technical and non-technical skills needs of members and can deliver training at a time and pace to suit business needs and shift patterns. Since its establishment in 2017, the Connected Health Skillnet as engaged with 175 companies to upskill 700+ trainees in critical areas such as medical software regulations and quality assurance; software validation and testing skills and leadership development.

About First Polymer Training Skillnet
First Polymer Training Skillnet supports the use of polymer technologies within the medical device and manufacturing engineering sectors. The Network’s mission is to advance the growth of Ireland’s internationally recognised polymer industry through targeted talent development programmes. Collaborating with industry, the Network designs, develops and delivers responsive, bespoke and flexible, subsidised upskilling courses to address the ongoing needs of businesses. First Polymer Training Skillnet is promoted by Polymer Technology Ireland, an Ibec business association. The Network is open to private businesses in the polymer processing, medical device and manufacturing engineering sectors.

About Irish Medtech Skillnet
Irish Medtech Skillnet supports businesses of all sizes in the medical technology and engineering sectors through the provision of subsidised upskilling programmes. The network’s mission is to further Ireland’s position as an emerging global medical technology hub by enhancing the specialised knowledge and skills of the talent base.

Collaborating with industry, the network designs, develops and delivers responsive, bespoke and flexible training courses to address the ongoing needs of businesses. Irish Medtech Skillnet is promoted by the Irish Medtech Association, an Ibec business association. The Network is open to private enterprises in the Medtech and engineering sectors.

About Skillnet Ireland

Skillnet Ireland is the national talent development agency of the Government of Ireland, responsible for advancing the competitiveness, productivity, and innovation of Irish businesses through enterprise-led talent development. Skillnet Ireland partners with 57 industry bodies, supporting over 26,600 businesses and more than 97,700 trainees annually.

Skillnet Ireland encourages businesses of all sizes and sectors across the economy to avail of the range of Skillnet Ireland talent development and upskilling supports available through its 70 Skillnet Business Networks and five National Initiatives - Skillnet Climate Ready Academy, Skillnet Innovation Exchange, Skillnet MMC Accelerate, Skillnet Offshore Wind Academy and MentorsWork.

Skillnet Ireland is funded from the National Training Fund through the Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science.

To learn more about Skillnet Ireland visit www.skillnetireland.ie
Skillnet Business Network search tool: https://www.skillnetireland.ie/our-networks/

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