Women Mean Business (WMB)

The All-Ireland STEM Passport for Inclusion programme addresses inequalities with access to STEM careers among post-primary school students in socially disadvantaged communities. Today, Maynooth University, in partnership with Microsoft Ireland (Microsoft Ireland Dream Space), Taighde Éireann – Research Ireland and the Department of Education, has published the STEM Passport for Inclusion Impact Report which reveals that over 5,000 students from disadvantaged backgrounds have participated in the initiative to date. Notably, 76% of these students are now considering a career in STEM. https://ow.ly/oa6P50UgzLn

This week we hear from Helene Hugel, Founder & CEO, Helium Arts who was the recipient of this year’s FTI Consulting WMB Female Entrepreneur Award. Founded in 2010, Helium Arts is a children’s charity committed to improving the well-being of children and young people living with lifelong physical health conditions. "We use creativity to help children and young people feel more confident and resilient, empowering them with the necessary tools to overcome adversity," says Helene. "Our work is also proven to support families and help them be more resilient. Last year in 2023 we reached 3,000 children across Ireland, now in 2024 we are set to reach nearly 5,000." Read more here>> https://ow.ly/1pHq50UeRxk

"Ireland’s biopharma industry is poised for a boom, and we have a great opportunity to put women at the heart of it," says Patrice Thornton, Vice President Human Resources at PTC Therapeutics, Inc. "A career in this patient-focused industry is highly rewarding. You contribute to a mission that changes and potentially even saves lives – from shaping drug development to making sure the right people can access innovative therapies." she adds. Read her Opinion piece in WMB here>> https://ow.ly/nOJt50UeSCx

WMB News – This week we hear from FTI Consulting WMB Female Entrepreneur Award recipient Helene Hugel of Helium Arts; Sheena Dignam, GalwayFoodTours.com celebrates a decade milestone; Caroline Jackson of Jacksonstone Recruitment Ltd celebrates 25 years in business; UCC’s IGNITE Start-Up Incubation Programme IGNITE UCC is open for applications, and Patrice Thornton, PTC Therapeutics, Inc. shares her thoughts on putting women at the heart of Ireland’s Biopharma boom. WMB – It’s all about Woman! https://lnkd.in/dy9uTwb

The latest InterTradeIreland All-Island Business Monitor paints a broadly positive picture with three in ten (37%) businesses saying that they are growing, half (53%) are stable, and six in ten (60%) reporting that they are profitable. https://ow.ly/siMv50UbGZC

Today, Women's Aid Ireland is marking its 50th Anniversary with a one-day landmark conference in Dublin city centre. "Gender based violence remains a scourge on Irish society and limits the potential of all women and girls affected," says Sarah Benson, CEO of Women’s Aid. To support work to progress efforts in Ireland to reduce abuse and increase gender equality Women’s Aid, in partnership with Core, is also launching new research, 'Evolving Manhood: Attitudes, Influence, and Well-being Among Irish Men'. https://ow.ly/RABy50UbGb9

This week we hear from Prof. Ita Richardson, CSIS at University of Limerick | Lero. Ita was presented with the WMB Empowering Women Award 2024. "My focus is on Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM), particularly Software Engineering / Computer Science," she says. "Starting with Undergraduate student enrolment numbers, we are in the region of 20% female nationally. If you consider that these numbers go down as one progresses through levels, it is obvious to me that we need to really get across the message to teenagers that software engineering and computer science is really important, and is a really interesting job," she adds. Read more here>> https://ow.ly/LjWT50U9NIK

Q: As a member of ICON’s leadership team, how do you stay ahead of the competition? "We’re really driven by our mission, which is to improve lives of patients by accelerating the development of our customers’ drugs and devices through innovative solutions. In recent years, we’ve spent a lot of time considering and fostering our core values of collaboration, agility, integrity and inclusion, in order to guide our actions and shape our culture. Our ‘Own it at ICON’ philosophy is something that we are proud of. This conviction means we embrace our customers’ challenges and use solution-oriented approaches to address them. This also empowers us to welcome diversity, in both thought and background, and to cultivate an inclusive workplace. We encourage our people to proactively apply their expertise to every situation – it is their efforts that drive our success." Rose Kidd, President, Operations Delivery, ICON plc and recipient of this year's WMB Businesswoman Award. https://ow.ly/ZuIx50U5aBV

WMB News – This week WMB Businesswoman Award recipient Rose Kidd, President, Operations Delivery at ICON plc gives us a window into her world of work; We congratulate Anne Doherty as she starts her new role as CEO of Port of Cork Company Ltd.; Hats off to CEO Cristina Purtill, Plio Surgical a spin-out from Trinity College Dublin and winner of InterTradeIreland Seedcorn Competition; TechIreland’s Startup Vibes for Q3 shows good results for women-lead tech companies, with a shoutout to Co-founder & CEO of CroiValve Dr. Lucy O’Keeffe – the company raised an incredible €14.6 M; and Dr. Barbara Oliveria, Co-founder & CTO of Luminate Medical which raised €13.6 M. WMB – It’s all about Woman! https://lnkd.in/dy9uTwb

Two researchers based in Ireland, Dr Nicola Fletcher (UCD Conway Institute) and Dr Ruth Britto (Trinity College Dublin) have joined an elite number of distinguished scholars announced as European Research Council (ERC) Synergy laureates. Read more here>> https://ow.ly/qRKP50U2Wn3