Clarecastle Trailblazer Calls For Us To Value Benefit Of Education This International Women’s Day

A Clarecastle woman who was one of four female dairy food scientists to take up a managerial role in the male-dominated sector, is calling for the value of education in achieving equality to be recognised.

Today marks International Women’s Day, a global celebration of the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women.

International Women’s Day marks a call to action for accelerating gender parity, with events across the world taking place to celebrate women’s achievements and rally for women’s equality.

The theme for International Women’s Day 2022 is ‘Break The Bias’.

Clarecastle resident Geraldine Gregan did just that in her decision to pursue a career as a Dairy Food Scientist.

Geraldine and three other women were the only female managers at the time to acquire a rare job as a quality manager in a dairy business in Cavan.

Geraldine says was met with many obstacles in her role – particularly in the mid-80’s – when she tried to attain job security and also faced losing her job when she fell pregnant as a single woman.

The Cork-native insists that we honour the women who made it possible for the next generation to succeed on this International Women’s Day.

A senior lecturer at at Shannon College of Hotel Management wants the power of education to be recognised in furthering the fight for gender equality.

Kate O’Connell, is also the Chair of the Athena Swan Bronze Award for Shannon College.

Athena SWAN is an accreditation scheme that recognises and celebrates good practices in higher education and research institutions towards the advancement of gender equality, representation, progression and success.

However, Kate believes that we need to acknowledge the sexism that is included in the foundation of the state, before we can move forward.

A fourth-year student at Shannon College says we need to recognise the subtle sexism that still exists in society in order to progress.

Aisling Fogarty feels that feminism is often viewed in the wrong light and perceived as an attempt for women to be viewed as superior to their male counterparts.

However, Aisling insists that men need to join the battle for gender equality in order for the fight to succeed.