November marks a time every year where the nation’s women are made aware that they are working for free, compared to their male counterparts. In other words, the gender pay gap kicks into place highlighting the excess men are being paid for the same role.
Some of the gender inequality statistics according to Richtopia are as follows:
• Women lead only 5.5% of the nation’s most powerful companies
• Men earn 32% more than women at upper managerial level
• Women take on average 3 more years to reach the same level
• When surveyed on their experiences, 40% of women said that being female would inhibit their success.
Further to this, according to experts on the Matt Cooper show on Today FM, it has been proven that when applying for roles, employers favour male CVS. In a study when men and women switched names on their CVs, the male CV was favoured every time.
In light of this we must strive to celebrate and highlight successful women in business in our region. One such prominent business woman is Emma Lacy, Chief Operations Office and Head of Sales and Marketing at Horan Automation in Drangan. Since joining the engineering team less than two years ago, Emma has quadrupled the sales, doubled the workforce and spearheaded a business venture which opened up new international markets for the company. These achievements have earned Emma a joint management role with the owners.
Horan Automation was delighted to win the “Best Start-Up or Emerging Business” in the 2018 Tipperary business awards which really is a testament to how hard the team works and how successful the business is becoming. Not only that but Emma herself has been shortlisted into the last 11 of the nominees for “Best Management Professional” in the Irish Images Business Woman of the Year Awards, 2018. As well as being the only shortlisted nominee from Tipperary, Emma is actually the only one from Munster.
“I am completely overwhelmed to be shortlisted for such a prestigious award amongst the greatest business women in the country. Being a woman working at a top level in a robotics and automation company can come with its challenges, especially as I am not from an engineering background. It is an exciting industry and I am delighted to see that my hard work and dedication is paying off. It is always wonderful to receive positive feedback from one’s peers and I hope I am proud to represent Tipperary in the final shortlist of nominees.”
The awards night will take place next Monday 19th November and nominees will receive news on the night. We wish Emma the best of luck and wish her every success in Horan Automation for the future.
