PwC's latest Women's in Work Index ranks Ireland in 12th position out of 33 OECD countries, an improvement from 15th place last year.
PwC said the improvement was mainly due to a rise in the female labour participation rate to 69.6% in 2021, up from 65.6% in 2020.
But the research, published to mark International Women's Day, shows that despite a return to some normality after the Covid-19 pandemic, the workplace continues to be an unequal place for women.
The gender pay gap for the country's largest companies is 12.6%, the most recent PwC research shows.
Only 25% of women in Ireland have an established plan to advance their career with their current employer compared to 35% of women globally.
However boardroom representation for Ireland also increased to 31% from 26.8% last year.
PwC said that increasing female employment in Ireland could boost Irish GDP by $50 billion, or 9%, a year
At the same time, closing the gender pay gap could boost women's earnings in Ireland by $4.32 billion a year - an increase of 8%.
Overall, PwC's Women in Work Index shows that despite some gains in the workplace globally, indicators show considerable progress is still needed and at current rates it will take more than 50 years to close gender pay gap across the OECD.
The best performing countries on the latest index are Luxembourg, New Zealand and Slovenia.
The index shows that on a global basis a 34 percentage point difference exists between the proportion of women who say being fairly rewarded financially for their work is important to them and the proportion who actually experience it. The gap in Ireland is 46 percentage points.
Emma Scott, PwC Ireland People Partner, said that CEOs and employers should do all they can to build a balanced workplace culture where women feel as empowered as men, and where women are fairly rewarded and experience autonomy, meaning and a sense of belonging at work.
She said this will have the dual benefit of building trust across the organisation and supporting women's advancement.
"In today's business world, it's up to all of us as leaders to set the tone from the top to drive a culture that is inclusive and equitable for all employees," Emma Scott added.
Ger McDonough, Partner, PwC Ireland People & Organisation, noted that a 20 year old woman entering the workforce today will not see pay equality in her working lifetime.
"At the rate the gender pay gap is closing, it will take more than half a century to reach gender pay parity. If the rebound from the Covid-19 pandemic has taught us anything, it is that we can't rely on economic growth alone to produce gender equality - unless we want to wait another 50 years or more," Ger McDonough said.
