Rachel Kileen explores how women can harness the power of networking, mentoring and camaraderie to transform organisations for the better
In the 1930s, revolutionary women such as Hanna Sheehy Skeffington, Esther Roper and Mary Kettle campaigned vigorously against the constraints imposed on married women in Ireland with reference to the barring of women from working in the civil service after marriage and the Irish Constitution’s ‘women in the home’ clause, which is currently subject to referendum.
It is less well-documented that professional women’s organisations continued to campaign, both in Ireland and internationally, for women’s equality from the 1930s to the 1960s.
International networking by the Irish Housewives Association and the Association of Business and Professional Women led to the establishment of the first Commission on the Status of Women in Ireland in 1970, which strongly advocated for equal pay and better conditions of employment for women.
Women’s advocacy was at its peak during the second-wave feminist era and campaigning for female political representation by organisations such as the Women’s Political Association yielded results.
Without the support of women’s groups, Gemma Hussey may not have become the first female Minister for Education in 1982.
Mary Robinson credits the support of Mná na hEireann as critical to her election as the first female President of Ireland. Yvonne Scannell campaigned against the punitive tax regime for married women who paid up to 80 percent of their salary in tax during the 1970s.
Throughout Irish history, there are many other examples of the power and influence of female advocates working together to improve the lives of women.
International Women’s Day provides the opportunity for us to consider the broader picture and how, as women, we can become change-makers through networking, mentoring and camaraderie.
Networking
Academic research shows that the greatest inhibitor to professional women’s networking opportunities is time.
This lack of time is often due to the ‘second shift’, a term coined by Arlie Hochschild in 1989 to describe the fact that the bulk of household management and childcare is undertaken by women and not men, even when women work full-time.
This long-hours culture is a patriarchal ritual that professionals are expected to subscribe to, even though it is proven to be counter-productive.
Divesting elements of the second shift and reducing work hours to make time for networking requires planning and negotiation.
However, the value of networking in a supportive and encouraging environment can pay significant dividends in terms of shared experience, creativity, and a pooling of skills and resources.
Historically, this is how women co-operated in the private sphere.
Mentoring
Contemporary accountancy training underscores the value of business relationships as key to success and there is a tendency to focus on client development as a priority.
But what about mentoring within our organisations with the objective of helping others to advance?
Women should look upwards to find suitable mentors to guide us through our careers, look behind us at the challenges younger women face and support them in achieving their goals.
In a world that can sometimes seem increasingly misogynistic, the counteractive defence system must be led by women and their male allies.
Camaraderie
Camaraderie is a collaborative approach that is closely associated with solidarity and comradeship. It is particularly valuable at a time when many professional women work from home and spend less time engaging with colleagues and business associates in person.
My research into the lives of successful professional women reveals that when women are actively involved in progressive organisations, they become part of that network and drivers of change.
Aristotle’s adage that ‘the whole is greater than the sum of its parts’ makes sense when women (and men) support and encourage each other’s efforts to realise their ambitions and collaborate on improving work culture.
Transforming organisations
Throughout Ireland, professional organisations can be transformed from their reliance on the much-maligned but highly lucrative ‘old boys’ style networks to include a compelling cache of competent and capable female change-makers who advocate for new ways to handle traditional gender roles.
Networking, mentoring and camaraderie amongst women (and men) can help to forge a third way out of highly gendered rituals such as the second shift, long-hours culture and all of their complexities, for everyone’s benefit.
Rachel Killeen is a PhD student at Trinity College Dublin working on a project entitled: Professional Married Women and their Work in Ireland (1970–1985).
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