On Friday evening, the hallowed halls of Regent House played host to some of the world’s pioneering business leaders as Trinity’s Student Management Fund (SMF) presented its third-ever women in leadership conference. Students, graduates and recruiters alike streamed through Front Arch, eager to enjoy an evening of empowerment and inspiration. The annual conference seeks to bring an important conversation to campus, one that recognises the importance of a gender-balanced workplace to the upcoming generations of female and male leaders.
The panel, moderated by Gavin McLoughlin, the Business Editor at the Irish Independent, was made up of an esteemed and successful quartet, each offering their own distinct but equally important perspective of the position of women in the workplace in 2018.
The first speaker was Julie Sinnamon, the CEO of Enterprise Ireland, who took the stage to offer a personable and motivating speech. Hailing from County Down, Sinnamon was the seventh child of 13, and one expected to follow in the footsteps of her six elder sisters who had all become teachers. Confidently breaking down the barrier of familial expectations, Sinnamon instead pursued her own untrodden path to business in the University of Ulster. Sinnamon urged all aspiring entrepreneurs and leaders to simply follow their passion. The CEO stressed the importance of loving what you do because otherwise, she asserted, “you’re wasting precious time”.
Central to this message was Sinnamon’s plea to potential female entrepreneurs to put themselves forward and to be ambitious. Noting the lack of confidence and in turn, ambition, of many aspiring female leaders, Sinnamon asserted the power of passion to inspire these women to leap across boundaries.
Sinnamon also spoke of the fundamental role both mentors and sponsors play in an individual’s path to success. Mentors work to nurture your talents and aid your development, while sponsors essentially play cheerleader, acting as your advocate among their own business networks and social circles.
For Caroline Dowling, the President of Flextronics, these sponsors are at the very heart of her success, since her humble beginnings as an assembly line worker at Alps Electric in the 1980s. Indeed, Dowling had her own barriers to dismantle after becoming pregnant at the age of 15, forcing her out of school and into the daunting world of motherhood. Dowling described the Ireland of her time as “blinkered and intolerant”, with Catholic authority all-prevalent and unmarried mothers not having a place.
Nevertheless, Dowling discredited such prejudice, returning to school at the age of 21 before getting a job on the assembly line and tirelessly working her way up the professional ladder. Fundamental to her success, Dowling explained, was her imagination. “Never underestimate the power of your imagination”, she implored, “it can lay the foundations of your future”. Indeed, Dowling acted as a staunch advocate of the “you-cannot-be-what-you-cannot-see” brigade and encouraged the upcoming leaders in the room to be limitless in their ambitions.
Dowling’s speech acted as a fitting precursor to the next speaker, Lauren Simmons, the youngest and only female trader on the New York Stock Exchange. Simmons also made history by becoming the second-ever African-American woman to get the position. Indeed, Simmons overcame a number of obstacles on her path to success and continues to do so, working as the sole female trader on a floor of 250 men.
Simmons arrived in New York as a genetics graduate with zero connections in finance but brimming with determination. After three months of extensive networking, the 24 year old forged her path to become the successful trader she is today. Simmons beseeched the aspiring leaders of the room to take the knock-backs when they come but likewise, to leap at the opportunities when they arrive. “Be fearless”, she encouraged, “take control of your narrative”. In order to break boundaries, Simmons explained, we must transcend expectations and in doing so create our own story.
Also speaking at the event was Mick Sweeney, a senior executive of Bank of Ireland. Sweeney’s experience in the male-dominated world of finance spans two decades, offering an intriguing perspective on the progress made during the 20-year period. Sweeney noted the development of an understanding in the banking world of the success that a diverse workplace guarantees. He contended that this understanding has induced a seismic shift in the mindset of the banking world (albeit in the name of self-interest). The companies that have “copped on”, Sweeney explained, are outperforming those that have not, and this value difference has become glaringly obvious. Thus, Sweeney concluded that those aspiring leaders in the room should be both encouraged and hopeful for the continued growth of diversity in business.
