Sixteen thousand women who are currently "on home duties" represent a major source of untapped potential in terms of addressing skills shortages, according to the state's further education and training authority SOLAS.
Research carried out by the body has found that of the 218,000 women between the ages of 20 and 64 who are not currently participating in the workforce, 16,000 could potentially be attracted to return to work.
SOLAS says that supports such as flexible working models, and further education and training courses need to be offered to encourage this cohort to upskill or reskill, and ultimately return to work.
SOLAS believes that low levels of educational attainment and long periods out of work are significant factors in a woman's decision to remain at home.
The research finds that just one third of women not currently working have children under the age of five.
It finds that more than half (56%) of women on home duties have upper secondary education or less.
It finds that this group is less likely than non-working college graduates to have previous work experience.
Just over a quarter of women who are not in the workforce have third-level qualifications. A further 14% have further education and training qualifications.
The SOLAS study found that while most women on home duties did not want a job, there is a potential future labour market supply of more than 10,000 women with Leaving Certificate or lower qualifications, as well as almost 7000 women who are college graduates.
