DESPITE THE great distance women have come in a short time from a professional perspective, they still carry nearly all the burden of social responsibility, Mary Davis, managing director of Special Olympics Eurasia, told attendees at a Women's Executive Network (WEN) breakfast briefing yesterday morning, and she urged women to help men play a greater role in the home.

"I believe that for women a critical next step forward is to support and to enable men to be home-makers and parents as well as chief executives. If women are to be free to make choices, society has to be free and fair as well," she said, citing a statistic which showed that just over 1 per cent of persons whose principal activity was looking after family or home were men.

Ms Davis, who is a governor of the Irish Times Trust, also spoke about the challenges which can be overcome when people work together towards a common goal. "When we think of our own lives and our own jobs we should think of the powerful good we can do and how that good can be multiplied when it is linked with others and when we use a network effectively," she said, adding that the opportunity to network has helped her greatly in her development as a leader.

She remarked particularly on "the people I meet, the opportunities that come out of events and conversations and the wonderful unexpected bonuses such as making great friends".

Since its launch at the end of September, over 700 women have joined the WEN, with members coming from a host of sectors including the legal, engineering and accounting professions, the arts and communications.

Over the next three years, WEN will deliver a range of professional development programmes and events including Ireland's Most Powerful Women Awards, and The Women's Executive Forum, a suite of workshops designed specifically for career enhancement, growth and professional development.