Professional women prioritise flexible hours above all else

A new survey has offered a snapshot of how female professionals feel about work and life in Ireland today.

The Network Ireland survey found that of the women surveyed, who included both employees and business owners, flexible working hours was the most important consideration for considering a new job, followed by an increase in pay.

Two thirds of working women said they need to be more confident in the workplace and the vast majority of females said there needs to be more women in top positions. One in four said companies should offer women more mentoring.

Worryingly, one in four women said men are paid more at their place of work and almost one in five said they can’t switch off from work. Four out of five working women answer emails outside of work hours.

President of Network Ireland, Helen Wycherley said: “Professional women in Ireland have spoken and they want more from their employers. Flexible work, more mentoring from companies and an increase in women in senior roles are some of the key take-aways from our latest Network Ireland Survey.

“Confidence is also a key element for working women – something we are acutely aware of in Network Ireland and believe that the supports we’ve put in place are helping professional women to increase their confidence and put themselves forward more to achieve their goals. Many of our members do believe that the glass ceiling still exists in the workplace and it is only by offering support, mentoring and encouragement that we can overcome that.”

This survey comes ahead of the Network Ireland National Conference and Awards Ceremony on 27 September.

The conference, will be hosted by Sonya Lennon and is one of the biggest of its kind in Ireland for professional women with 250 delegates attending.

Network Ireland is Ireland’s longest established and leading female focussed business network. The conference and awards will take place at the Celtic Ross Hotel, West Cork.

The theme of this year's annual conference is Step Up and will feature a range of national and international business people, motivational speakers and influencers.

It will be designed to ensure women in business have the resilience, motivation, insights and know-how to fulfil their potential and lead and inspire others.

Among the keynote speakers and panellists are Sonya Lennon, designer, businesswoman and social entrepreneur; Gráinne McCarthy, Deputy Chief News Editor, Wall Street Journal and Grace O'Rourke, fitness and mindset coach who has completed Special Forces Ultimate Hell Week.

Other results from the survey include that one in four women do not see themselves in the same job in five years time and that 90 per cent of people surveyed said women bring a different perspective to decision making than men to the workplace.

Half of company owners said that growing their bottom line, paying themselves more and employing more staff is what they’d like to do with their firm in the next three to five years

For working parents when asked what supports would make it easier, especially in the early years, most said more affordable childcare or flexible work.

Cork County Council are the partners for the national conference while AIB are the official partners of Network Ireland nationally.

Tickets for the conference can be purchased at networkirelandconferenceandawards2019.eventbrite.ie.