Women whistleblowers more likely to face negative consequences but access to external advice key to protecting whistleblowers from reprisal, new analysis shows
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Dublin, 3 November 2025
Transparency International (TI) Ireland has today published its Speak Up Report 2025, revealing that women are more likely to experience negative consequences for reporting wrongdoing and that access to independent external advice remains one of the strongest factors in protecting whistleblowers from retaliation.
The report draws on anonymised data from over 2,800 people who sought guidance through TI Ireland’s Speak Up Helpline between 2011 and 2024, and regression analysis from the 2023 Integrity at Work (IAW) Survey of Irish employees and employers.
The survey found that 50% of women who said they had reported wrongdoing said they suffered negative consequences, with 37% of men claiming that whistleblowing had had a negative impact on them. In addition, analysis of survey data there was a 15.7 percentage points increase in the probability of negative consequences for those who identified as female in the survey.
However, it noted that those working in organisations that made their staff aware of access to external advice such as a trade union, solicitor, or the Speak Up Helpline — were 20 per cent less likely to suffer negative consequences compared to those who raised concerns in an organisation without access to such supports.
‘The findings from data spanning the past four years of supporting whistleblowers and our Integrity at Work survey is striking,” said John Devitt, Chief Executive of TI Ireland.
‘While more people are speaking up, women, in particular, continue to face disproportionate risks for doing so. New research from the University of Galway also suggests that anonymous whistleblowing channels, peer-support, and psychological care are among the measures that employers should consider implementing if they want to address the heightened risks that female employees encounter’.*
Key Findings
- External advice reduces risk: Workers who had access to an external advice service were 20 per cent less likely to report negative outcomes after speaking up.
- Retaliation remains widespread: 37.5% of whistleblowers reported suffering some form of penalisation — a 70% increase since 2019.
- Growth in whistleblowing: 39.5% of Helpline callers between 2020 and 2024 were whistleblowers. In the year following the commencement of the Protected Disclosures (Amendment) Act 2022, the number of whistleblowers contacting the Helpline increased by 43%.
- Health, Social Services, and Charities/NGOs remain the most reported sectors, with education-sector whistleblowers reporting the highest numbers of reprisal.
‘It’s concerning that more whistleblowers who contacted us are reporting retaliation, but at the same time encouraging to see that culture and supports can improve outcomes’, added Donncha Ó Giobúin, Lead Researcher on the report and Senior Helpline Coordinator at TI Ireland. ‘Workers are safest when employers are open and accountable, when senior leaders act with integrity, and when people can seek independent advice before deciding how to report wrongdoing’.
Penalisation and negative consequences for women
According to the EU Global Corruption Barometer, women are less likely than men to believe they can safely report corruption, with only 44 per cent expressing confidence compared to 50 per cent of men. Research indicates that male-dominated organisational and governance cultures can exacerbate gender inequality and create environments that discourage women from speaking up. As a result, discrimination, institutional barriers and fear of retaliation can pose significant obstacles to women whistleblowers, particularly those from vulnerable groups. Although evidence of differing levels of retaliation between men and women remains inconclusive, studies suggest that women may be especially deterred from reporting wrongdoing due to greater risk aversion and lower perceptions of safety.
TI Ireland recommends that:
- All public and private bodies provide gender-disaggregated data arising from protected disclosures.
- Dedicated outreach, counselling and peer-support services be made available to women who experience retaliation.
- More employers welcome and act upon anonymous disclosures and communications to offer greater assurances to women who might fear penalisation
A growing need for legal and psychological support
Since 2011, the Speak Up Helpline has assisted more than 3,150 people. TI Ireland’s Transparency Legal Advice Centre (TLAC) has provided free legal advice worth an estimated €1.6 million to 161 clients, though demand continues to exceed funding capacity.
Its Integrity at Work (IAW) programme, now involving 38 public, private and non-profit members, continues to help employers strengthen internal reporting systems and workplace culture.
In 2023, TI Ireland also launched the country’s first free Psychological Support Service for whistleblowers and their families, recognising that the emotional impact of retaliation can be comparable to post-traumatic stress. Some 45 helpline clients had sought and been referred for support as of the end of 2024.
Policy recommendations
The report calls for reforms to strengthen Ireland’s integrity infrastructure, including:
- Extending legal aid to whistleblowers, as envisaged in the EU Whistleblowing Directive.
- Removing the cap on compensation for whistleblowers under the Protected Disclosures Act.
- Ensuring all Workplace Relations Commission adjudicators receive specialist training in whistleblowing law.
- Enacting the long-awaited Public Sector Standards Bill and providing ethics training to all public officials.
‘Ireland has made notable progress in legislating for whistleblowing safeguards’, said Mr Devitt, ‘but we still see too many people who pay a price for speaking up. Access to impartial external advice and measures aimed at ensuring that action is taken in response to concerns are essential of the law is to work in practice’.
Report Launch and Integrity at Work Week 2025
The Speak Up Report 2025 will be launched online at 12pm on Monday, 3 November 2025, as part of Integrity at Work Week 2025, hosted by TI Ireland in collaboration with the University of Galway.
Integrity at Work Week (3–7 November) will include events on:
- Attitudes and experiences of Irish workers and whistleblowers
- Whistleblowing in Ireland: Legal developments and challenges since 2024
- Gender and intersectionality in whistleblowing
- Incentivising ethics: Should whistleblowers be rewarded?
For more information and to register, visit: https://integrityatwork.ie/integrity-at-work-week-2025/.
Notes
The Speak Up Helpline, TLAC and Integrity at Work programme are supported by the Department of Public Expenditure, NDP Delivery and Reform, the Department of Justice, and the Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science.
*See Kenny, Kate and Batishcheva, Maria ‘Whistleblowing as Disclosure Injustice: Testimonial and Structural Barriers to Being Heard’, May 2025, https://doi.org/10.1111/gwao.13270
ENDS
For media enquiries contact:
John Devitt
Transparency International Ireland
Email: admin@transparency.ie
Phone: +353 1 554 3938