If you are a woman aged under 30 and the director of a company, you are part of a very select group, according to the findings of a survey carried out by Interface Business Information of 1,000 companies and 2,987 directors. The survey found that 80 per cent of company directors are men and only 3 per cent of all directors are under 30 years of age.

More than twice as many directors live on Dublin's southside - 25 per cent - as live on Dublin's northside - 11 per cent. However, almost half of directors live in areas outside Dublin, according to the findings. A further 16 per cent of directors live outside the State, with the residence of 1 per cent undisclosed.

The survey was based on a random sample of company returns downloaded by Interface Business Information from the Companies Registration Office's database. The sample included companies from a range of industries and business sectors including manufacturing, computing, services, finance, mining, textiles and agriculture.

Those in their forties are most likely hold a directorship accounting for 32 per cent of the total, followed by those in their fifties (30 per cent). Only 21 per cent of directors surveyed were under 40.

While women make up 45 per cent of the workforce, they only account for 20 per cent of the directorships. The national president of Network, the organisation for women in business, Ms Clare Dunne, said the survey findings indicated women still had a long way to go to redress the balance.

"Although we represent almost half the workforce, it is clear that women are not being promoted past middle to senior management to directorships. There is still a glass ceiling in many companies."

Ms Dunne says that, in a separate survey, 64 per cent of those interviewed expressed the wish to reach directorship level.