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A new leadership programme for women launched by Enterprise Ireland in collaboration with DCU’s Centre of Excellence for Diversi
A new leadership programme for women launched by Enterprise Ireland in collaboration with DCU’s Centre of Excellence for Diversity and Inclusion aims to support women in Ireland in pursuit of leadership and senior management roles in business.

Enterprise Ireland and Dublin City University launch Leadership Programme for Women

A new leadership programme for women launched by Enterprise Ireland in collaboration with DCU’s Centre of Excellence for Diversity and Inclusion aims to support women in Ireland in pursuit of leadership and senior management roles in business.

Developed by Dr Melrona Kirrane, Associate Professor of Organisational Psychology at DCU Business School, the Leadership Development Programme for Women 2020 is designed to respond to the current and future needs of aspiring women leaders.

Fifteen women working in semi-state bodies took part in a successful pilot of the programme in 2019 and were awarded certificates at an event in the Shelbourne Hotel on Thursday, January 16th. Two further programmes are planned for 2020.

Julie Sinnamon, CEO, Enterprise Ireland said: “Having seen and heard about the experiences of those graduating today, it gives great hope for what will be achieved over the next year. 

"Enterprise Ireland recently launched a 2020 Action Plan for Women in Business which aligns with the Leadership Programme for Women. 

"We firmly believe that increasing diversity and narrowing the gap between women and men in entrepreneurship, leadership and senior management roles, will lead to increased economic growth in Ireland.”

Sandra Healy, Head of Equality, Diversity and Inclusion, DCU Centre of Excellence for Diversity and Inclusion said: “Diversity and inclusion is a core focus for many organisations and the DCU Centre of Excellence was established to help organisations by providing access to the very latest developments in academic research, insights and tools to drive change across organisations.  

"DCU's collaboration with Enterprise Ireland on this programme is a great example of how we can shift the dial on gender balance by working together. In particular the programme provides a relevant and inspiring approach to leadership development for women.”