Advancing Gender Balance
28th May 2021

CWiT and 30% Club are partnering with a common goal to campaign for increased inclusion in the technology sector. Even though significant progress has been made in the last few years, equal workforce and business leadership in Ireland is not yet a reality. According to Balance for Better Business, on average Ireland’s leading companies have 30% representation of females on their boards, but 1 in 4 still have no female representation in leadership teams.
CWiT and 30% Club plan to deliver a number of activities in the area of mentoring, education and training, as well as working with the leaders of technology companies, supporting them in their diversity ambitions. Gillian Harford, Country Executive, 30% Club Ireland said “We are delighted to announce this new alliance between the 30% Club Ireland and Connecting Women in Technology (CWiT). We will be working together on complimentary activities to advance the gender balance in technology-based careers in Ireland. With our particular focus on gender balance at senior levels in organisations, CWiT’s great success working with schools, and our combined focus on early to mid-careers, the alliance gives both groups the opportunity to focus our efforts on future success across the full STEM pipeline from early education to board level.
CWiT, 30% Club and their members celebrated the partnership with an online Master Class facilitated by ABSTRACT, an award-winning leadership training group. CWiT spokesperson and strategy lead Ifah Sivak said “We are excited to launch our alliance with 30% Club and lead the nation-wide campaign to advance gender diversity in the technology sector. It will help address the gaps and bring value to members of both organisations interested in professional development and help retain female talent in the industry” Speaking on the event today, she added “It was fantastic to mark the launch of the alliance with something useful for our members, in the form of a Masterclass on Building Superior Confidence donated by Abstract consulting, who are long standing supporters of the 30% Club. More than 300 people joined a virtual practical workshop, for leaders who want to build their own skills in developing confident talent and for talented female colleagues at the right stage of their career, who would like to build their personal skill set.”