TrailblazHER™ at TU Dublin Launches at Dublin Chamber International Women’s Day 2024 Celebration with a Resounding Call for Female Empowerment

Bringing together over 300 of Ireland’s leading entrepreneurs, Dublin Chamber’s International Women’s Day was marked by the official unveiling of TU Dublin’s flagship initiative TrailblazHER™, a pioneering programme aimed at empowering female talent from the classroom to the boardroom. Sponsored by TrailblazHER™ and in partnership with the Local Enterprise Offices, the evening celebration in The Round Room at The Mansion House on March 7^th, witnessed an enthusiastic turnout of over 300 attendees, affirming the strong commitment to advancing gender equality across Dublin’s business community.

Featuring a dynamic program encompassing an inspirational keynote from Siobhan O’Shea (Director of Indeed.com), panel discussions with leading founders Niamh Tallon (Her Sport), Alice Tevlin (Rua Food), and Siobhán Dunphy (Bon+Berg) and networking sessions, attendees were treated to insightful conversations with trailblazing female entrepreneurs, industry leaders and changemakers, underscoring the importance of representation and peer support in driving meaningful change.

Under the patronage of Ms Claire Mac Namee, Director of TrailblazHER™ and Head of Enterprise Engagement at TU Dublin, TrailblazHER™ was inaugurated amidst an atmosphere of inspiration and empowerment. Ms Mac Namee, known for her exemplary leadership and advocacy for gender equality, delivered a captivating keynote address, setting the tone for an evening dedicated to championing female talent.

“TU Dublin takes seriously the imperative of increasing female representation across all sectors. TrailblazHER™ is a TU Dublin-led community of people, organisations and enterprises with a shared commitment to advancing gender equality. Through TrailblazHER™, we are designing what a better way can look like. We are calling on business leaders to become part of the TrailblazHER™ story. Through our collective efforts we can build a future where gender does not limit or define what is possible”.

With over one million now raised to support the initiative’s pilot phase, TrailblazHER™ marks a pivotal advance in supporting women with the unique challenges they face as job seekers, job creators and as leaders. The initiative is grounded within three foundational pillars, TrailblazHER™ Inspire, Develop and Innovate:

1. TrailblazHER™ Inspire: TrailblazHER™ Inspire will engage with students in secondary school by bringing exciting experiential learning activities to their classrooms, exposing them to the broad range of opportunities available beyond their second-level studies. This will include engaging in-school activations, messaging of inspiring industry role models delivered to young people via Tik Tok and Instagram and University scholarships for disciplines in which females are underrepresented.
2. TrailblazHER™ Develop: TrailblazHER™ Develop is designed for university students and includes the ‘Be A TrailblazHER’ Programme for ambitious females who want to jumpstart their careers, industry mentorship for aspiring female students, network building opportunities and workshops and masterclasses from some of the most successful companies in Ireland.
3. TrailblazHER™ Innovate: TrailblazHER™ Innovate is designed for females in industry and includes innovation & leadership workshops and training, alongside female founder’s programmes and networks. Each of these is designed to accelerate pathways for women towards leadership within their chosen field.

TrailblazHER™ is proudly supported by its generous Founding Donor Intel, with support from ESB, PwC, Workday and Enterprise Mobility. Through collaborative partnerships, TrailblazHER™ seeks to empower women at every stage of their educational and professional journey, driving meaningful progress towards a more equitable and prosperous society.

If you or your organisation are passionate about empowering female talent and would like to know more please visit www.TUDublin.ie/TrailblazHER, contact the TrailblazHER™ team directly be emailing TrailblazHER@TUDublin.ie and connect with TrailblazHER™ on LinkedIn, Instagram and X.