​I am delighted to launch the next event in our Women Who Means Business networking series along with some exciting plans for 2019. After two events last year with over 600 attendees, the response and demand for this network has been phenomenal. The purpose of our Women Who Mean Business network is to provide support to professional women. It has been set up to guide and provide women with confidence in the work place and to inspire women to achieve their full potential, no matter what industry or stage they are at in their career. These events provide a network of peers for women to grow their networks, make connections and learn from each other.

Gender diversity in the workplace is a hot topic, with an urgency in demands for transparency, it is great to see many of our clients addressing this issue and committing to achieving gender parity within their organisations. The world is changing for women in the workplace, however women still face many challenges. Women can often lack confidence due to gender discrimination, pay disparities, lack of advancement and social expectations regarding family life.

According to a PWC survey carried out last year, “42% of women feel nervous about the impact children will have on their career and 45% of women believe diversity is a barrier to their progression.”

With our series of events and workshops, we will learn from business women who are leaders in their field, their tips to success while exploring the adversities they have overcome on their journeys. These events are a great chance to learn, discuss issues, ask questions, make connections and share stories. We also want to educate women on the importance and benefits of having a mentor and we are excited to announce that we will be launching a mentorship programme later this year.

Women are distinctly underrepresented at C-Suite and board level and can often face barriers to progression and a large focus behind our Women Who Mean Business network will be to promote changes within this area.

We have some exciting plans for 2019 including a new brand, website, mentorship programme, workshops, events and more. Our next event is in March for international Womens Day with a fantastic line up of speakers. We will be joined on the panel by Linda Kiely – CoFounder of Voxpro, Caroline Keeling – CEO of Keelings and Nicola Vavasour, CEO of Scotiabank Ireland with MC Jacqui Hurley.

Personally, I have left the last few events feeling really empowered. We have had some sensational women in leadership positions at our previous events, it is great to learn their stories on how they have got to where they are today and also learning from the challenges they have overcome on their journeys.

Previous panel speakers have included Amy Huberman, Fiona Mullan – VP of international HR – Facebook, Anne O’Leary – CEO – Vodafone, Michelle Spillane – Marketing and Brand Director – Paddy Power Betfair, Josepha Madigan – Minister of Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht, Aideen Hennessy – Partner – Hennessy O’Shea, Pamela Quinn – Managing Director – Kuehne + Nagel, Maeve Harrington – Managing Director – In and Out Marketing.

I look forward to welcoming many of you at our next event and feel free to reach out if you have any queries regarding our Women Who Mean Business Network – j.kinmonth@masonalexander.ie.