The Gender Burnout Gap - Is Your Diverse Leadership Pipeline Leaking?
Women now hold 41.4% of senior management roles in Irish mid-market companies, placing Ireland well ahead of the global average of 32.9%.
According to official data from the Central Statistics Office (CSO), women hold 32.3% of senior executive roles across large Irish enterprises.
Women make up 27.9% of members on Boards of Directors across large enterprises.
For Ireland's largest publicly listed companies (ISEQ20), female board representation remains steady right at a 40%.
While female corporate leadership representation in Ireland has increased, senior-level women experience burnout at significantly higher rates than men. Women in senior management experience double the emotional drain from managing team welfare, alongside corporate objectives. High-performing female leaders are actively self-selecting out of promotion tracks to protect their health. Surveys show that roughly 33% to 40% of female workers have considered quitting their jobs due to the combined pressure of workplace burnout and heavy family responsibilities.
RedSky Leadership highlights a few key factors that influence the level of burnout female leaders experience:
The Emotional Labour of Management: Women in leadership are statistically more likely to absorb the emotional stressors of their teams. Women leaders are significantly more likely than men to rank managing team burnout as their number one workplace stressor, prioritizing workplace empathy and conflict resolution.
The "Second Shift" Dilemma: The reality of day to day life is that many female leaders still shoulder a disproportionate amount of domestic and caregiving responsibilities outside of work hours, this can create overwhelm, which raises long-term cortisol and stress levels.
The Stigma of Disclosure: Nearly 90% of women executives believe their board or manager would react negatively if they openly disclosed they were experiencing mental health challenges or severe burnout.
Aside from the very real personal challenges, burnout is also a risk to businesses, financially and operationally. Executive replacement costs are estimated at 213% of an annual salary due to recruitment, onboarding, and lost operational momentum. Unexpected executive medical leave or sudden attrition destabilizes market confidence, team dynamics, and disrupts long-term strategic projects.
The stats speak for themselves and I see these findings mirrored in personal conversations I have had with female leaders.
Solutions are multifaceted and require both personal and corporate responsibility. Workplace organisational culture, workload distribution and addressing systemic inequities are critical to creating a sustainable leadership pipeline and this requires a consistent commitment to incorporating wellbeing practices and policies into the strategic vision of the organisation, rather than just a tick box, nice to have exercise. Wellness programmes alone will not bring the organisational benefits of increased productivity, staff retention and profits unless it is underpinned by positive work design, clear role definitions and buy in from leaders throughout the organisation.
Individuals can empower themselves by setting appropriate boundaries, delegation of tasks, scheduling recovery time and connecting with supportive mentors who understand the pressures of female leadership.
Are you experiencing burnout ? In Spring 2027, I am hosting an exclusive three day Women's Recalibration Retreat in Ireland. From overwhelm, burnout and stress to clarity, focus and growth. Shed the exhaustion. Reclaim your vision!
Day 1: Decompression (The Cortisol Drop): It takes roughly 24 hours for your brain to stop scanning for notifications and racing through to-do lists. The first day is about physically arriving and slowing down.
Day 2: Somatic Reset & Integration: With the initial layer of exhaustion acknowledged, day two is where deep physiological recovery (sleep, nervous system regulation) and clarity happens.
Day 3: Sustainable Forward Planning: The final day shifts from pure recovery to building a practical operational plan to take home, ensuring the retreat isn't just a temporary escape.
To register interest and be the first to receive the information and booking details, email yvonneskellyhealing@gmail.com or book a call:
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Workplace wellbeing
The Gender Burnout Gap - Is Your Diverse Leadership Pipeline Leaking?
With increasing female presence in leadership roles in Ireland, we examine the higher level of burnout in female leaders compared to their male counterparts.
