Leading the Way: Inside the Best Workplaces for Women™ 2026

Real change doesn’t happen by accident – it happens when organisations commit to building cultures where women can truly succeed.

Now in its eighth year, the Best Workplaces for Women™ recognition continues to shine a light on organisations that are not only creating great workplaces for all but are intentionally and consistently building cultures where women feel supported, empowered, and able to thrive.

This year, Great Place to Work recognises 40 outstanding organisations, representing a diverse range of sectors and sizes. Together, they represent over 10,000 female leaders – women who are shaping strategy, influencing culture, and leading teams across Ireland.

Across these 40 organisations:

• Over 14,600 women shared their voices
• 79.9% of women say they work in a Great Place to Work
• Women represent 39.8% of management roles

These are not small shifts. They represent meaningful, structural progress.

What does it mean to be a Best Workplace for Women?

The organisations recognised in 2026 go far beyond intention, they embed inclusion into how they operate every single day. They prioritise gender balance across recruitment and promotion processes, build leadership development programmes that strengthen female talent pipelines, and create networks where women can connect, mentor, and inspire one another. They actively support women at every stage of life and career – from early career development to senior leadership – while offering flexible working models that respond to real individual needs. Creating environments where women feel supported, trusted and able to grow is central to empowering women at work across modern organisations. 

By doing so, they are not only creating environments where women feel genuinely heard, trusted, and valued but are strengthening employee retention, cultivating high-performing cultures, attracting top talent, and investing meaningfully in organisational and leadership development.

“When organisations commit to fairness in progression and opportunity, the impact is felt across every level of the business. The Best Workplaces for Women™ recognition celebrates those who are not only setting the standard but raising it - creating cultures where women can thrive and lead with confidence,” said Fania Stoney, Business Development Strategist at Great Place to Work.

 Discover the full list below 👇 

Employee Retention: Creating Careers That Last

Retention is strongest when flexibility and wellbeing are not treated as perks. but as standard practice.

At NCRI, work–life balance is intentionally prioritised through flexible leave arrangements, supportive policies, and the cultivation of psychologically safe working environments. Rather than expecting employees to adapt around rigid systems, the organisation has designed ways of working that recognise the realities of modern life. Supporting employees through major life stages, particularly for parents and carers, is increasingly recognised as essential for retention, especially when supporting mothers in the workplace. 

The impact of this approach is clear. Women report feeling trusted to manage their professional and personal responsibilities without penalty or judgement – a critical factor in long-term career sustainability. This culture of trust is reflected in an outstanding 96% overall wellbeing score, demonstrating that flexibility and performance are not in opposition, but in partnership.

By embedding wellbeing and flexibility into everyday operations, NCRI has created an environment where women can stay, grow and contribute meaningfully over the long term, strengthening retention through trust, respect, and sustainable ways of working.

Similarly, EirGrid takes a deliberate and embedded approach to retaining and engaging women, grounded in meaningful work, inclusive culture, flexibility and equitable development.

A cornerstone of this strategy is Flexibility@EirGrid, which reimagines flexibility across contracts, working patterns, location and role design. Notably, it introduced the option for Heads of Function to work part-time - removing a structural barrier that had historically limited senior progression for women.

Wellbeing is equally central. Through Thrive@EirGrid, the organisation supports employees across physical, mental, social, financial and developmental needs, with initiatives such as resilience training and financial wellbeing seminars helping women navigate life stages without disrupting career continuity.

This is reinforced by hybrid working, additional remote days, relocation supports and structured development pathways that ensure progression is transparent and accessible. Combined with a strong connection to EirGrid’s societal mission, these initiatives drive high engagement and long-term commitment. Flexible and hybrid models are also reshaping how organisations approach the future of work and employee experience. 

Through flexibility, wellbeing and intentional development, EirGrid has created a culture where women are not simply retained — they are empowered to grow and lead sustainably.

Similarly, Hilton demonstrates how flexibility and supportive leadership drive long-term retention. Across its Irish properties, women speak to the tangible impact of family-friendly practices and genuine managerial support in sustaining their careers over time.

"At this stage of my career, Hilton gives me the flexibility I need to support my family - allowing me to work while being a present parent for my son. My GM and Area HRBP are very supportive, understanding, and facilitating. I'm so happy that I can still do what I enjoy, in the industry I know so well and have the family work-life balance I need."

- Barbara Poynton, HR Manager at Hilton Dublin Airport

By combining flexibility, internal mobility and sustained leadership support, Hilton illustrates how retention is built not just through policy, but through consistent encouragement and opportunity across an entire career lifecycle.

Similarly, Seetec Ireland demonstrates how flexibility, supportive policies, and visible leadership representation help sustain women’s careers over the long term. Enhanced maternity, paternity and carers leave, combined with phased return-to-work options and flexible working arrangements, ensure employees can balance professional and personal responsibilities without stepping away from career progression.

Clear promotion pathways, structured career conversations and strong female representation across leadership further reinforce engagement, showing women that long-term advancement is both achievable and supported. Flexible and part-time roles are actively embraced, enabling talented employees to remain and grow within the organisation across different life stages.

By embedding flexibility, leadership visibility and career development into everyday practice, Seetec Ireland has strengthened retention and created an environment where women can build sustainable, long-term careers.

High-Performing Culture: Inclusion as a Performance Driver

At Cloudera, high performance and inclusion are viewed as mutually reinforcing – not competing – priorities. A high-performing culture is one where expectations are clear, standards are consistent, and opportunity is accessible. When those conditions are intentionally designed, women are positioned not just to participate, but to thrive, lead and succeed. Creating that environment requires structural discipline, visible leadership commitment and continuous accountability.

Clarity drives equity. High performance begins with well-defined goals, transparent success metrics and consistent evaluation processes. Structured performance management frameworks reduce ambiguity and subjectivity, while clear role charters and calibration discussions ensure advancement decisions are grounded in measurable impact rather than perception. By minimising bias in promotion and performance conversations, women’s contributions are recognised and rewarded equitably.

Opportunity is also actively curated. Cloudera focuses on high-impact stretch assignments, cross-functional exposure and leadership visibility. Sponsorship, distinct from mentorship, plays a critical role. Senior leaders advocate for women in succession planning, promotion discussions and high-profile initiatives, ensuring progression is not dependent on informal networks alone.

Equitable compensation is foundational. Pay transparency, structured salary bands and disciplined compensation reviews mitigate disparities, with leadership accountable for corrective action where gaps are identified. Certification from Fair Pay Workplace further reinforces this governance commitment.

Flexibility is embedded as a performance enabler, not a concession. Hybrid models and inclusive parental policies allow women to sustain ambition across life stages, while senior leaders model flexible behaviours to reinforce that outcomes, not presence, define success.

Psychological safety underpins it all. Strong cultures are built when organisations prioritise trust, inclusion and accountability across their teams, key themes explored in workplace culture insights and best practices.

Through inclusive leadership training, bias awareness and structured feedback channels, Cloudera fosters an environment where diverse perspectives are actively sought and valued. Representation is intentionally strengthened through succession planning and data-driven monitoring of hiring, promotion and attrition trends.

"At Cloudera, inclusion is a performance strategy - not a slogan. We hire for culture add, engineer fairness into our systems, and back women with sponsorship, pay transparency, and real leadership access. When opportunity is structured and the bar is fair, performance accelerates."

- Siobhan Hourihan, Sr HRD at Cloudera International Limited (Ireland)

Ultimately, Cloudera demonstrates that high performance is not about intensity, but about intentional design. When fairness is engineered into systems and leaders are accountable for inclusive outcomes, performance strengthens. Inclusion fuels performance, and performance reinforces inclusion – together forming the foundation of a resilient, competitive organisation.

At Heineken Ireland, performance is driven by clear expectations, fair assessment and visible recognition. High performance is not left to chance. It is structured through consistent evaluation processes that ensure contribution is measured objectively and rewarded equitably.

Leadership development is central to sustaining this culture. Programmes focus on psychological safety, bias awareness and accountability, equipping leaders to create environments where women can perform with confidence. Structured performance calibration is used to challenge inconsistency and bias, ensuring women are neither overlooked nor over-protected, but assessed fairly against transparent standards.

Representation further reinforces this approach. Six of the ten members of the Management Team are women, including the General Manager, and women represent approximately 40% of the wider leadership population. This visibility normalises progression and provides powerful role models across the organisation.

Employee feedback from climate surveys and forums is reviewed at leadership level and translated into action, ensuring performance and culture evolve together. Recognition programmes reinforce collaboration and impact, strengthening both belonging and sustained performance.

Through clarity, accountability, and visible leadership representation, Heineken Ireland demonstrates that inclusion is fundamental to performance.

Salesforce Ireland demonstrates how culture, trust, and purpose combine to create an environment where women can perform and progress. Employees are encouraged to innovate, take risks, and grow their careers while contributing to causes they care about. Visible leadership support and a strong sense of purpose reinforce an environment where women feel empowered to succeed.

Talent Attraction in Action

Attracting ambitious women requires more than strong branding – it demands visible proof.

Heineken Ireland attracts women by being explicit and credible about fair opportunity, development, and long-term careers. Its commitment to equity is not positioned as an aspiration, but as an operational standard embedded into recruitment practice.

Heineken Ireland has also strengthened its employer brand by placing employee experience at the centre of its messaging, as explored in Putting People First: Heineken Ireland’s EVP Brand Transformation, demonstrating how authentic storytelling and a clearly defined employee value proposition can help attract and engage new talent. 

The organisation’s hiring approach is intentionally designed to reduce bias at every stage. Gender-neutral job descriptions, structured interviews, diverse interview panels and transparent feedback processes ensure consistency and fairness. Shortlists and hiring outcomes are reviewed rigorously, and where gender balance is not achieved, hiring managers are required to demonstrate how bias was mitigated in the decision-making process.

Candidate feedback consistently highlights the quality and fairness of the experience, contributing to a strong year-on-year increase in applications from women.

Importantly, the employer brand reflects lived reality rather than promise. Visible female leadership, flexible working models and clear investment in learning and development are actively showcased. Inclusive onboarding processes then ensure that attraction converts into engagement from day one.

By aligning recruitment systems with cultural commitments, Heineken Ireland demonstrates that talent attraction is strongest when credibility, transparency and accountability are built into every step.

Aura Holohan Group attracts talented women by visibly demonstrating that progression, flexibility and inclusion are embedded in everyday practice. With women holding 50% of management roles, the organisation provides clear evidence that leadership opportunities are accessible and achievable. Visible female leaders, highlighted through initiatives such as the Meet the Team campaign, showcase real career journeys and reinforce that women can build long-term careers within the organisation.

Attraction is further strengthened through Aura’s strong development culture. Programmes such as the Aspire Development Programme, Aura Training and Fitness Academies and leadership panels create clear pathways for progression into roles such as Operations Manager and Tutor. Many women currently in senior and acting management roles began their journeys through these initiatives, demonstrating the effectiveness of structured development in advancing female talent.

Aura also recognises that flexibility and supportive policies are key factors for many women when choosing an employer. Flexible rosters, family-friendly policies and a menopause policy help ensure the organisation is responsive to the realities of employees’ lives.  Creating supportive environments for women across different life stages increasingly includes understanding menopause in the workplace. Combined with visible leadership representation and strong learning opportunities, these practices position Aura as a workplace where women can join with confidence, knowing they will be supported to grow and succeed.

Organisational & Leadership Development: Building the Pipeline Intentionally

In alignment with its People First ethos, Cloudera has built a comprehensive development ecosystem designed to empower every employee with particular focus on advancing diverse and female talent into long-term leadership roles.

All employees have access to Udemy for Business, providing more than 5,500 digital learning experiences to support continuous upskilling. These resources are guided by curated Learning Paths developed by Cloudera’s Learning & Organisational Effectiveness and Culture teams, ensuring development is intentional rather than ad hoc. Blended learning programmes further strengthen critical leadership capabilities, with training in Inclusive Leadership, Allyship, Unconscious Bias, Manager Foundations and Hybrid Team Connection.

A cornerstone of Cloudera’s leadership strategy is its formal Sponsorship Program. Following a highly successful pilot, the initiative has been permanently embedded into the organisation’s development framework. Distinct from mentorship, sponsorship pairs underrepresented minority employees and emerging women leaders with senior executives who actively advocate for their progression. Participants receive executive coaching, targeted exposure to leadership pathways, and structured support in defining actionable career goals.

The programme is designed not only to accelerate individual advancement, but to cultivate a visible culture of allyship and accountability. By building a strong community of diverse talent and equipping majority-group leaders to act as sponsors, Cloudera is embedding inclusion directly into succession planning and leadership pipelines.

Through structured learning, executive advocacy and systemic bias mitigation, Cloudera demonstrates that organisational and leadership development is not left to chance. It is deliberately designed to ensure women are prepared, supported and positioned to lead.

If Cloudera demonstrates how sponsorship and executive advocacy accelerate progression, EirGrid illustrates how accessible pathways and flexible structures sustain it.

EirGrid develops leaders through an integrated strategy that combines equitable learning, inclusive leadership capability-building and career pathways designed to support progression at every stage. Its talent development ecosystem spans from early career initiatives  such as Earn & Learn, the Graduate Programme and Erasmus exchanges, through to its Leadership Development and Staff Professional Development programmes – creating a clear continuum from entry level to senior leadership.

Critically, EirGrid addresses one of the most significant barriers to women’s advancement: structural rigidity. Its flexibility model enables part-time senior roles, career breaks, remote contracts and day-to-day flexibility. Progression into senior leadership on part-time contracts is not an exception but an established option. This ensures that ambition does not need to be paused during life transitions.

Leadership capability-building reinforces this foundation. Training in inclusive leadership, unconscious bias awareness, cultural awareness and emotional intelligence equips leaders to create supportive, high-performing environments. Structured onboarding practices, including a Buddy Programme and quarterly New Joiner Events with senior leadership, further strengthen visibility and connection.

Together, Cloudera’s executive sponsorship model and EirGrid’s systemic pathway design demonstrate that organisational and leadership development requires both advocacy and architecture. When progression is intentionally designed and actively supported, women are positioned not just to step into leadership but to remain and thrive there.

If Cloudera demonstrates how sponsorship and executive advocacy accelerate progression, and EirGrid illustrates how structural flexibility sustains it, NCRI shows how merit-based trust and targeted investment develop women leaders in practice.

Since its establishment, women have held management roles within NCRI, reinforcing a clear expectation that leadership is open to all.

Development opportunities are openly accessible, with transparent funding processes ensuring fair access to accredited education, professional programmes and leadership training. Women also gain hands-on leadership experience through participation in committees, working groups and strategic planning, building capability in governance, decision-making and organisational change.

Similarly, Gleneagle Hotel demonstrates how investing in early career opportunities, training and mentorship helps build strong leadership pipelines. Through school placements, internships and structured development opportunities, women gain hands-on experience across departments such as guest services, events and operations, building confidence and professional capability from the early stages of their careers.

Continuous learning is supported through training and industry programmes with organisations including Fáilte Ireland and Skillnet Ireland, strengthening both operational and leadership skills. Many women who began in operational roles have progressed into supervisory and management positions, now mentoring newer team members and contributing to strategic and operational decision-making.

By combining mentorship, practical leadership experience and clear pathways for progression, Gleneagle Killarney is helping develop the next generation of women leaders within the hospitality industry.

How can your organisation be recognised as a Best Workplace for Women™ in 2027?

To be considered for the Best Workplaces for Women recognition, participating organisations are required to be Certified™ as a great place to work first. The Certification™ is the first step towards any Great Place to Work recognition. 

Want to know more info on how to get Certified™? Check out our webinar below to get all your questions answered!

About Great Place to Work®

Great Place to Work® is the global authority on workplace culture. We help organisations quantify their culture and produce better business results by creating a high-trust work experience for all employees. We recognise Great Place to Work-Certified™ companies and the Best Workplaces™ in more than 60 countries. To join the thousands of companies that have committed to building high-trust company cultures that help them attract, retain and take care of their people, click below to contact us about getting Certified today.