An engaging, enlightening and thought-provoking series of talks, keynote addresses and panel discussions formed the programme of events for International Womens' Day 2023 at UL.
The conference partners included Johnson & Johnson; Northern Trust; Dell Technologies and Bank of Ireland.
Caitriona Hamill of Northern Trust chaired a really engaging, enlightening and thought-provoking series of talks, keynote addresses and panel discussions.
Marie Moynihan, Senior Vice President of Global Human Resources Services for Dell gave great advice on ‘How to be your authentic self’. Her talk was followed by the first keynote address of the day, given by Kingsley Aikins, CEO of The Networking Institute, and former President and CEO of the Worldwide Ireland Funds, on the topic of ‘The Power of Networking. How and why building a strong and diverse network is now so critical in a disruptive world’.
Panel discussions followed, with the first panel of Noel Gavin, Senior VP, Head of C&IS Global Learning, Northern Trust; Dr Sindy Joyce, Human Rights Defender, sociologist, lecturer in UL; and Mamobo - Oghene Oghoro, Social Psychologist, award-winning social entrepreneur, Founder and CEO of GORM, and UL PhD student, discussion on ‘What Intersectionality means and how it affects inclusivity and dignity and respect in Organisations'.
The second panel of Dr Máire Treasa Ní Cheallaigh and Jenna Bromell discussed 'The changing world of women in sports'.
The second keynote address was given by Professor Patricia Mannix McNamara, Head of the School of Education at UL, on the topic of ‘Navigating Inclusive Workplace Culture: Insights from 25 years of research into bullying and incivility in the Education Sector'.
Patricia was followed by Joe Power, CDI Tallaght Quality Specialist in Restorative Practice (RP), and Development Officer with the Limerick Restorative Practice Project who spoke about ‘Restorative Practice as a mechanism for resolving and preventing bullying & harassment issues'.
Feedback on the programme of events delivered yesterday was very positive and great credit and thanks goes to Dr Marie Connolly, Director of Human Rights, Equality, Diversity and Inclusion, together with her team, Maureen Keogh, Michael O'Brien and Maria Healy and to the Conference Committee for their work on this programme of events, which was really impressive and expertly delivered.
International Women's Day 2023 at UL also included the Inaugural Lecture of Professor Norma Bargary. Norma is a SALI (Senior Academic Leadership Initiative) Professor of Data Science & Statistical Learning in the Department of Mathematics & Statistics at the University of Limerick. She is co-director of MACSI research centre and UL vice-Director of the SFI Centre for Research Training in Foundations of Data Science. Her research focuses on the development of statistical models for large, high-dimensional data that are measured over time (e.g. data measured using sensors, human movement data, etc.). Her work helps to answer questions about the world around us and to empower decision-making. She has played a leading role in numerous successful European and national grant applications with a total of €1.6 million awarded to her as PI. Norma's passion for accurate communication around the conclusions drawn from data is particularly relevant these days for bolstering our faith in science, and confidence that we are making well-informed decisions.
It was wonderful to see Professor Bargary deliver her Inaugural Lecture to a packed auditorium of family, friends and colleagues.