Linking Business Women to opportunities and support in the Border Region

        The Anglo-Celt,  20 September 2006

  Click to enlarge

Programme : HR Tools for Recruiting and Maintaining Staff for Cavan Childcare Committee

funded by Accel Training

The first WIN (Ireland) conference was held on Friday, November 29^th 2002 at the Cavan Innovation and Technology Centre, Cavan.  Delegates from around BMW region and from Northern Ireland were introduced to the WIN concept by Dinah Bennett, Durham University, and given an example of how the network can work to benefit women by Patricia Murphy-Byrne, Manager, Roscommon Partnership.    During the day the attendees were broken into three groups to discuss two primary points: 

1. What are the gaps between women and networks and between networks and networks?

2. How can WIN address the gaps in women’s networking?

The gaps

• the lack of knowledge and research into the gaps between women and networks and between individual networks in the country.  It was generally agreed there is an immediate need for a strategy and agenda built around case studies, conferences and research that can guide the development of local, regional and cross-border opportunities.  

• lack of a unifying language that allows women from all walks of life and at all levels of engagement with women’s networks to communicate clearly without using specialised or localised jargon;

• the need to reduce isolationism or territorialism by existing networks;

• to create and develop funding opportunities,

• to reduce the resistance to women and women’s groups from business leaders. 

• In addition, everyone recognised the need for a vehicle (such as the WIN concept) to deliver qualified competent women to businesses and to entrepreneurship.

 Specific issues raised included 

• WIN has the opportunity to establish an meaningful networking entity There are currently many  ‘disjointed’ networks working is isolation, so a joint strategy needs to be developed

• WIN will overcome duplication & point out there is no territorial or competitive angle to the concept with existing networks

• WIN will learn from existing networks on a cross border basis by sharing ideas and knowledge

• Joint Conferences & mentoring programmes will be introduced nationally

• As an All Ireland network, Win will create a North and South, Cross border niche.

• People in cross border areas have more barriers

• Businesses in border counties are not developing potential

• Case studies are needed to identify issues

• WIN will identify gaps on the ground

• Be aware of appropriate use of language – at all levels, tiers and sectors. Have relevant tiered meetings. E.g ‘Friendship Groups’ for women entering back after a career break without the confidence to join a networking group

• Provide appropriate events to different levels

• Create and Map out a Scope document on;-

  • What is available and what exists out there already?

  • Who is doing what.

  • How well they are doing it?

• WIN needs to scope existing layers and the support they each give

• Each group or network needs to feed into each other at all times and keep the communication lines open

• WIN will be  ‘marketed’ as a Signposting. A ‘One stop shop’,  a point of communication

• Win will create and develop a mechanism for facilitating peer mentoring

• Women need to identify themselves as role models (Irish modesty)

• WIN will identify more role models at all levels.

• WIN can support and benefit women by helping them overcome isolation and ‘Home Alone’ fear

• Continue to address Self Confidence in women

• Streamlined information website with links to networks and support agencies

• Research starting in Dundalk, WIN will have a role & input to the DKIT research

• It is evident there are lots of support systems around but we need better access to more and better information

• Not enough choices being presented to women to allow for juggling home, family and work

• Need to Address local issues

• WIN can enhance existing network client bases

• WIN needs to deliver women ‘better ready’ and more prepared to the doors of FAS and Enterprise Boards etc.

• WIN needs to communicate the benefits of networking to women

How can WIN fill these gaps?

The conference looked to clearly identifying gaps and how WIN can respond to the present and future situations. There is a need to collect and collate information from various groups so the networks can produce women clear and coherent policy objectives at every level of business and government.  It was agreed that there was an immediate need for a body that could assist groups identifying and tapping into funding opportunities (including the development of self-supporting models). Other needs / opportunities include the establishment of a clearinghouse for innovative ideas, information, and the highlighting (mainstreaming) the results or outputs of successful programmes.

Overall it was agreed an entity is needed that can bring together women, networks and layers of networks in an effective manner that will enable achievement of women on the ground.  Specific comments are as follows:

•  WIN needs to portray the economic sense of the concept i.e. what WIN could, in effect, do to improve the Irish (or appropriate regional) economy. Impact the relevant government bodies with the economic angle and the pushing of women to develop their businesses.

• Finance, funding. Identify relevant government departments, partnerships, agencies, stakeholders etc. What is available?

• Lots of social benefits too but we need to focus on potential jobs and economic worth of the concept.

•   Website development for information to be readily available and simply accessed is vital.

•  Setting up of networks in local areas that are flexible enough to address local issues

• There are layers of networks that address the level that the groups are at & as they progress that they can feed into situation changes on a more appropriate level.