Points of view
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AI’s inbuilt biases threaten to undermine women in the workplace
The age of Artificial Intelligence (AI) is here, whether we want it or not. And although it is already proving a useful tool for some tasks, both mundane and incredibly complex, its all-too-human biases are reinforcing discrimination against women, undermining them in...
Making fatherhood work: ‘The feeling you get from caring for your child, I’d swap it for a few zeros’
The clueless dad, the silly dad, the dad who always forgets, the messy dad, the sport-obsessed dad, the handy dad, the reckless dad. Then there are the bad dad jokes, the shrunken laundry memes, the burnt dinners and the honey-I-don’t-know-how-to-use-the-dishwasher...
I’ve seen men watch porn in my workplaces. I reported it and was called ‘a prude’
The age of the topless Page Three girl in newspapers and calendars featuring naked women in workplaces is long gone, but has been replaced by some men and boys openly viewing online pornography at work or on public transport. Last week, it was revealed that more than...
I was the first pregnant senior manager in the organisation. My employers were shocked.
You’re having a baby? Congratulations! It is a special time with a great many joys; first breath, first smile, first walk, and challenges like sleep, feeding and managing the never-ending laundry. Until recently, the skills for coping with this new world were...
How to reset your life, career and happiness with the help of one simple tool
What would you write in a graduation card to yourself, age 21, from your current perspective? Would it be the usual “The World Is Your Oyster” or “The Adventure Begins” or even the Dr Seuss-inspired “Oh The Places You’ll Go!” My advice to myself at that age? After...
Mothers As Business Owners – Minding Your Business And Your Baby
Women who start their own businesses say freedom, better work-life balance and autonomy are the main reasons they take the plunge into self-employment. Despite its glamorous reputation, entrepreneurship is a high-risk gamble financially, personally, emotionally and...
The motherhood penalty: ‘Once they’re in bed, you log back on at 9pm or 10pm and work’
When it comes to working and having children, it’s more difficult for women to climb to the top of their profession. From the gender pay and promotions gap, the childcare and domestic juggle and the women’s health gap, many structural and societal barriers are put in...
How women being thought of as ‘small men’ lead to a work health gap
When you are working and raising young children, you have little time to think about your own health or your physical and mental needs. It is an oversight that is reinforced by social and cultural messages that encourage women to subsume their needs for others. We...
Childcare in Ireland: ‘Even as well-paid professionals, it was an exhausting struggle. The numbers never added up’
Childcare is Ireland’s impossible equation. No matter how much you try to solve for X – working from home, asking relatives for help, using crèches, childminders and availing of State subsidies and payments – it seems designed to break you financially and emotionally....
How to make the most of your financial power at every life and career stage
Women are financially disadvantaged throughout their lives. From paying the 'pink tax' – more for similar clothing and toiletries compared to men – to the gender pay gap, pensions and inheritance gaps, it’s much harder for women to attain and maintain personal wealth....