What should female grads look for when starting out?

Though a shift to remote working during the Covid-9 pandemic led to a record high number of women participating in the labour force in Ireland, women remain under-represented in many roles, in particular senior posts.

The number of women holding positions in senior management in Ireland stood at 28.8 per cent in 2020, a recent report from the European Commission found, though this was a sharp rise from 15.3 per cent in 2015.

While the same report noted Ireland had made “excellent progress” on a number of indicators, including gender equality; pay inequality, failing to receive the same opportunities as their male counterparts as well as working conditions remain obstacles for women, according to the National Women’s Council of Ireland (NWCI).

For female graduates entering the workforce, knowing what to look out for when starting out in a company can be tricky and difficult to navigate.

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Julie Sinnamon, co-chair of Balance for Better Business and former chief executive of Enterprise Ireland, advises they examine the number of women in senior leadership positions at their prospective employer.

“Diversity starts at the top and if you can’t see women at the top table that would suggest that the company does not treat diversity as an important business objective/priority,” she says. “It would also be worthwhile to look at the kind of policies companies have in place to support women at different stages of their life and to seek out speeches or recordings of company leaders speaking about gender balance in the workplace.

“Finally, although it might seem counterintuitive, female graduates should also look at the kind of policies that are in place to support their male counterparts, such as extended paternity leave, since fair and flexible policies that recognise men as equal caregivers will ultimately benefit women as they progress within the workplace.”

Emma DeSouza, women’s leadership co-ordinator at the NWCI, also points to the gender pay gap legislation which came into force earlier this year. The regulations require organisations with more than 250 employees to report their gender pay gap for 2022 in December, with the data based on a “snapshot” date of their choosing in June. The legislation will be extended to organisations with 150 or more employees in 2024, and those with 50 or more employees in 2025.

“Certainly it is advisable to look at the company’s practices and policies, their gender pay gap, and what kind of progress they’re making in terms of gender equality so graduates can see where is the best place for me to go for a progressive, equal workplace,” she says.

“We also have coming down the tracks, if it passes, a Bill coming from [Fine Gael TD] Emer Higgins around board representation, and that will also require public bodies and boards to have to publish how much progress they’re making and gender representation at board level as well.”

The proposed legislation includes a 33 per cent quota for women on boards, rising to 40 per cent after three years, and introduces possible sanctions for companies that fail to comply with the gender quota. Targets were recently introduced at an EU level that from 2026 large companies operating will have to ensure a share of 40 per cent of the “underrepresented sex” – usually women – among non-executive directors.

Siobhán McKenna, head of equality, diversity & inclusion at publicjobs.ie, says once women graduates start out in the workforce they need to “find their voice” and “get used to hearing the sound of it”.

“This could be speaking up in meetings and challenging things that they think need to be challenged. You’ve got to practice that, so start with the little things and just get used to it, would be one piece of advice,” she says.

“A second piece of advice would be to join a union or join an employer resource group. Get used to telling people what you think about things, getting involved in shaping your own workplace, because decisions are made by people who turn up to those staff network meetings or union meetings. Don’t wait for other people to improve your workplace.”

In terms of what employers can do to ensure that barriers can be overcome to address under-representation, Sinnamon says they should set targets and have an action plan, “treating gender like any other business objective”.

She also advises they build a “gender balanced succession plan” at both board and executive leadership team level and ensure there are progress reports “to achieve transparency and accountability”.

McKenna also stresses the importance of organisations having “a plan of action” with designated roles and responsibilities.

“Targets do work,” she says. “They’re not flawless, they’re not without issues or not without problems, but if you want to drive change you need to be able to measure your progress towards that target or goal. One way you do this is through collecting and analysing equality monitoring data. Then you can see if any of the initiatives are shifting the dial, because how do you know otherwise if you don’t measure, monitor and evaluate.”

While gender balance is crucial to make the workplace a more fair and equitable environment, Sinnamon points out that diverse views, backgrounds and experiences play a critical role in fostering innovative thinking within a company. ”Research from McKinsey has shown that companies in the top quartile for gender diversity are 21 per cent more likely to have above-average financial returns,” she says.

Meanwhile, research from PWC has highlighted greater concern about climate change among female board members.

“Female graduates enter the workplace with diverse experiences, perspectives, values and priorities to their male counterparts and they should embrace this. By doing so they can remain true to themselves while having a positive impact on their employer and society as a whole.”

Five pointers

1. Research a company before beginning employment

2. Speak to female employees and if possible those in senior positions

3. Be confident in your abilities and in the diverse perspectives and views that you bring to the table

4. Find your voice early on and don’t be afraid to speak up in meetings

5. Join a union or employer resource group