At the launch of Plan Ireland’s Pathways to Power report recently its chief executive, David Dalton, said women are still “largely absent from decision making” and face considerable obstacles on their path to empowerment.
“We need to increase the number of women in decision-making positions. We need women to be role models.”
The problem is not that we need more role models, but that we need them to be more visible. It is true that women are underrepresented. According to the European Commission, “Women are seriously under-represented when it comes to the boards of management of Ireland’s top businesses . . . Irish women make up just 8.7 per cent of board members of the largest publicly listed companies in Ireland, significantly below the EU average of 15.8 per cent.
Chairwomen
And according to European Commission statistics published in January 2013, there are no women chairwomen or chief executives in any of the top publicly listed companies in the ISEQ20 index.
Irish women account for 6.5 per cent of executive directors in Ireland’s top companies and 10.3 per cent of non-executive directors. Both figures are well below the respective EU averages of 10.2 per cent and 16.8 per cent.” Still, I don’t think we lack female role models per se. Instead, what we have to do is make the effort to notice them, let them be known as role models and encourage them to be proud of it. We need to arm women with the confidence to try things and not worry about “failure”.
In true “Positive Economist” fashion, I don’t interpret things not working out as a failure that one needs to be ashamed of, rather as a learning opportunity. More women trying out more roles would have an immense impact on them personally, on society at large and it would be positively represented in our GDP.
In politics, we can lament the fact that only 16 per cent of TDs are women. But we can also look up to Mary McAleese, Mary Robinson, Geraldine Byrne Nason and Catherine Day among others.
In business, thousands of Irish women have made their mark at home and abroad, including: Rosaleen Blair, founder of Alexander Mann Solutions; Mary McKenna, managing director, Tour America; Deirdre O’Connor, managing director, Och Ziff Capital Management, Ann Heraty, managing director, CPL Securities and Maura Quinn, chief executive, Institute of Directors.
In fact, out of the “Big Six” law firms in Ireland, five women have had very senior roles. I could write a similar list for media, charities and the arts. We can lament the small percentages – or we can focus on those women who have taken on these roles. “Only” 16 per cent of TDs are women? It is still 25 women sitting in the Dáil. Which means we have 25 role models to choose from, should we be thinking of a career in politics.
Guiding principles
One of my guiding principles is "don't confuse the macro with the micro". Macro figures such as GDP or employment statistics are helpful at a certain level – usually that of government policy. But they aren't so useful as a prompt to action. For actionable insights, your own micro environment is much more relevant. Do you, as a woman, want to be a TD or a chief executive? That's perfect – you don't need to be a statistic. Or rather, you don't have to be part of the "bad" statistic. A percentage is not a numerus clausus: "only" 16 per cent of women in the Dáil is not a limit. In other words, there's room for more: these figures are a huge opportunity to ambitious women today.
So take your pick of role models. By going after what you truly want, you empower more women to follow in your footsteps. And you create the better statistic.
Susan Hayes Culleton is managing director of international financial training company Hayes Culleton. Her latest book is The Savvy Guide to Making More Money