February NUI Galway Announce Partnership with Dress for Success Dublin to Promote Equality in the Workplace

NUI Galway is teaming up with charity Dress for Success Dublin to promote gender equality ahead of International Women’s Day on Friday, 8 March. Through the partnership, Dress for Success will provide advice on CV preparation and interview skills, in addition to advice and tips on professional clothing and styling, to Galway women preparing to enter or return to the workforce. NUI Galway will also work with the charity to provide policy guidance.   

The two organisations will also hold a number of events in Galway focusing on community outreach:

• A roundtable discussion and media event on Equality in the Work Place, including issues around gender pay gap, to coincide with Dress for Success Dublin’s 2019 International Women’s Day campaign. The event will take place on Thursday, 7 March at 12pm and will feature Sonya Lennon, Founder and Director of Dress for Success Dublin; Dr Michelle Millar, Head of School of Political Science and Sociology and Senior Research Fellow at the UNESCO Child and Family Research Centre, NUI Galway; and Merit Medical’s Vice-President of European Operations, Mark Butler. To register for this free event, visit: bit.ly/equalityintheworkplace  
• On Thursday, 7 March, Sonya Lennon will address up to 200 students on First Steps to Success - Owning your Worth and Planning the Game Strategy. Students will learn how to develop their personal brand, understand their worth and optimise their career from the very beginning. The student focused event will be held in NUI Galway’s Human Biology Building from 4–5.30pm.
• In May, NUI Galway will host a community-focused outreach event to support women returning to the workforce. The Dress for Success Dublin Outreach Event will give women living outside Dublin the opportunity to access the services of Dress for Success Dublin. The service provides advice and interview clothing and appropriate work wear for women who are trying to return to or gain entry to the workforce. A team, including two stylist volunteers will dress up to 15 women on the day. 

Professor Anne Scott, Vice-President for Equality and Diversity at NUI Galway, said: “We are delighted to partner with Dress for Success Dublin to support our communities as we strive for greater equality in the work place and work to address issues such as the gender pay gap. The partnership will focus on a number of events for the entire community and is among a range of NUI Galway initiatives designed to promote gender equality. Sonya is a great ambassador for female empowerment and Dress for Success supports women from all social, economic, and cultural backgrounds with the tools, knowledge, and opportunities to unlock their potential.”

Sonya Lennon, founder of Dress for Success Dublin, said today: “As a charity campaigning across all sectors to champion and advocate for workplace equality, we’re delighted, to have NUI Galway partner with us for the IWD2019 campaign, the first university to do so. It is great to see the work that NUI Galway have been doing, in moving towards full gender equality and we’re delighted to play our role, joining with them in this effort. We are also excited to have the opportunity, through this partnership, to work with women in the area seeking to enter or renter the workforce, empowering them economically and giving them the tools they need to succeed.

“Through this series of events with NUI Galway, we’ll reach a diverse group of people including media, local businesses, the University students and local women in unemployment to tackle gender inequality in a multifaceted and holistic way.”

Dress for Success Dublin is a charity that promotes the economic independence of women by providing career development tools and a support network, and campaigns for equality in the workplace throughout industries, and across the country. Since 2011, they have supported over 2,000 women with the professional clothing, skills and development opportunities they needed to secure employment and achieve success. 57% of the women who work with Dress for Success Dublin go on to secure employment, and 75% are where they want to be, whether that’s working or in further training and education.