TÁNAISTE MARY Coughlan is to be asked to provide a “landscape map” of the various State agencies that can provide funding and support for women to develop new businesses.
The call was made at a seminar, Women in the Economic Crisis, hosted by the European Commission in Dublin at the weekend.
The seminar, which addressed the question, “Would we be in this mess if more women were in charge?”, heard business, particularly finance, was one of the areas where women were least visible.
Some 89 per cent of board members were male, rising to 93 per cent when it came to heads of corporate bodies. The board of the Irish Central Bank was, it was claimed, exclusively male.
After workshops involving almost 100 participants the seminar heard many of the discussions had centred around how women could enter the business community, and find their way around the “landscape” of funding agencies and supports such as mentoring.
A number of speakers said the problem appeared to be that women did not know where to go for information. Seán Burke of Enterprise Ireland said what was needed was a “front office” which would serve all agencies such as Údarás na Gaeltachta, Shannon Development and the IDA, and seminar convenor Olivia O’Leary suggested he write to the Tánaiste to suggest such a facility.
The seminar was told by tax expert and barrister Suzanne Kelly that “during a period of convulsive change, man had lost his footing”. But for women to step into the breach, they must become more informed and involved in finance, politics and the economy.
