Podcast – Women in Leadership

'Women's voices and skills for a future of peace' Naples 2025. In this report voices from women who attended the conference of University Women Of Europe addressed the challenges of peace building, creating safe spaces for women and recognising the contribution of women to peace efforts even when they don't make the official photographs. Hosted by the Italian University Women Graduates organisation in Naples the conference provided much food for thought from speakers and audience. This podcast is a small sample of a few of these voices but it gives a flavour of the discussion.

The pace of climate change can seem overwhelming especially as we witness hotter summers, more flooding and more natural disasters around the world. We can feel helpless. Yet people and especially women, are leading efforts in small and large communities all around the world.  One such women Anna Mezzetti from Melbourne, is part of a Japanese inspired movement making micro-forests.  These can provide cooler, shadier places for animals and insects even over small areas.

Helena Doyle Living The Dream Travel Business COO of 5 Star Villa Holidays is the guest. She believes in having a go and self belief being focussed and intentional in what you want in life.

It is all about the team, not silos or star leaders when it comes to getting the best out of people according to Georgina Woodstra the latest podcast guest.

Sarah Perugia talks to Angie Mezzetti and discusses the challenges women face in leadership, including imposter syndrome and micro-aggressions. She highlights the importance of leadership development, noting that 94% of people cite it as a factor in their job retention

Women Conductors of orchestras, why do reviewers comment on their costume rather than their conducting? Why do women conductors still face unconscious bias? Dr Carolyn Watson shares insights from her research, also optimism and wisdom on this podcast.

Dr Jackie Maalouf says that despite advances for women worldwide, there will always be impediments because of the pull of the motherhood and caring roles she believes. Her motherhood role however was her ignite button, she is unstoppable! She shares her Pearls of Wisdom and ideas about not setting limits for yourself. You'll be amazed what you can achieve she says in the latest podcast. Listen Now!

Nuala Walsh author of "Tune In, How To Make Smarter Decisions In A Noisy World" joins the podcast with Angie Mezzetti  to discuss the importance of making better not quicker decisions when in leadership roles. Walsh emphasises the need to confront biases like overconfidence and to challenge confirmation bias. As a neuroscientist as well as a banker for many years, she has researched the whole area of whistleblowers in particular - people who were not listened to when they should have been!

Advocating for women before during and after birth is the life's work of Prof Jacqueline Dunkley Bent OBE Chief Midwife with ICM International Confederation of Midwives. She used to work for the NHS now she is working at a global level where the need is as great as ever. It takes takes courage to face those who hold the levers of power in society, politically and sometimes even within a family or a relationship. Women are at their most vulnerable when giving birth. While the ideal image we have of the pregnant mother is of the women surrounded by loving family or partner in a safe, high-tech hospital, for very many women around the world, this is far from the norm.  Over 287,000 women die worldwide in the period just before during or soon after delivery and that was from a 2020 statistic*. Many because they are in third world countries or war-torn places where standards of midwifery are not high up the agenda if they exist at all. Prof Dunkley Bents mission is to have the best medical and midwife care available to every woman. "This is why health systems, ministries, governments, decision makers, policy makers, strategists, people in power, must pay attention to how we can move the dial on on perinatal mortality, that's stillbirth and death within the first 28 days of life, and how we can move the dial on maternal death so that all women have the same maternity outcomes and experiences as those who have the best." These maternal deaths she believes are a violation of human rights and must be taken seriously.

Ali Cox CEO of Noble West believes consumers, especially women consumers want to see food become safer and farming become more sustainable. That involves telling stories about the individuals especially the women who farm and care about their products. Ali Cox is the storyteller.

Regina Mangan Liberty Blue Estate Agents and Author is the guest on the Women In Leadership podcast. She talks about the need to live by your values and make sure your actions align to those values. She also advises not to be afraid to let people off the boss if their values don't align with yours.

Dr Louise Kavanagh McBride on Challenges In Nursing Dr Louise Kavanagh McBride Chair of the NMBI talks about the retention of nurses and midwives, something the NMBI have as a priority. In the podcast she talks about the various challenges facing nurses and the profession in general. She also advocates for nurses to acquire microcredentials and continuous upskilling in the profession. Advocating for the patient when they are at their most vulnerable is a key part of every nurses job she believes. Dr Kavanagh McBride also stresses the importance of self care and reflective practice which is vital to the profession.

Nina Noonan is the guest on this episode of Women In Leadership. She says systemic barriers still exist for women in the workplace and often companies are not aware of it until someone points it out. "Some organizations have picked up on that and are trying to create a different system around that. But you know, very often, if there's a systemic barrier, we might not even know it is one, until somebody points that out. But if a meeting is being scheduled for five o'clock, and we don't stick to a clear finishing time, by default, it might affect your female colleague, the one who has to excuse herself perceived early and run off because the crash closes at six. That may not be a problem for your male colleague who doesn't have to go off because his wife picks up the child. So nobody might say I'm putting up a barrier deliberately here for women, but ultimately, what it means is if it is a woman who has to leave early, that's how she's going to be perceived."

International Women's Day in UCC University College Cork was celebrated with a series of presentations and discussion on the subject of 'why the world needs more women in leadership'. After the event, the co-chairs of Mnà UCC, Emma Connolly and Clíodhna O'Callaghan together with Dr. Lee Ann Burke the Mnà Treasurer, recalled highlights of the IWD event in UCC.  They are terrific women and recalled the messages they took from the morning and are well worth a listen.

Learning The Secret Sauce of Leadership for women. Navigating the territory of leadership for women is not easy. There are unwritten rules that are not often shared naturally with women in the workplace or in political life. Dr Melrona Kirrane DCU Business School and Andrea Dermody give a taster of that secret sauce.

Aine Murray podcast guest says women still need reminding of their potential and their achievements especially when it comes to promotional opportunities. The example of how differently men and women judge themselves is well known. Aine says that women should be prepared to have a go and that they should encourage other women to apply for positions they might not think they are qualified for. Ireland's business community has much to learn from France when it comes to diversity and inclusion according to Aine Murray President of the France Ireland Chamber of Commerce.

Sue Deagle talks about surviving grief and loss and even daring to thrive. "We're told in society, when you go through grief, it's this five stages, it's very linear. But no time after loss is linear. Some days you're up, some days you're down. One of the hardest things to accept is that you can't control where your emotions are from day to day. Sue talks about connecting with nature, resilience and her need to survive and thrive because of her experience in this Women In Leadership podcast.with Angie Mezzetti.

Dr Orlaigh Quinn the guest on this podcast is one of a rare breed. She rose through the Irish Civil Servant to become the Secretary General or head of the government Department of Enterprise Trade and Employment in Ireland.  There have only ever been 13 women to reach this position. What is even more impressive is that she was a trail blazer with few women role models. This reason there were so few women in senior leadership ranks was in no small way due to the fact that the Marriage Bar was in place in Ireland until 1973. This rule meant that when a woman got married, she was barred from her job and had to resign her position in the public service.

Actor Katie Honan talks about becoming a successful playwright thanks to the pandemic which gave her the headspace and time to work on creating work she never quite found the time to do before. In the process of writing 'How To Fall Flat On Your Face' she also learned how to pull a piece of theatre together from the business end and how to assemble a team of successful creatives. Katie has a new fascination with neuroscience thanks to the development research for the play which explores how a fall can lead to spiraling thoughts and sweating the small stuff. Memory she says is about the future.

Sharon Rogers Ph.D is one tenacious woman who has dedicated her career to neuroscience and to finding creative ways to work with others in the search for treatments for patients with Alzheimer's.