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NEWS
April/May 2013 www.esb.ie/em
INTERNATIONAL WOMEN'S DAY
» To mark International Women's Day, ESB celebrates the resilience and achievements of women in business, the home, society and politics.
Smart, Savvy and resilient
Defining the positive role model of women today.
International Women's Day, held annually on the 8th march, is an international day of celebration and recognition of women's achievements. ESB celebrated IWD with a number of events to recognise the resilience and achievements of women in business, the home, society and politics.
More than 150 people attended the events, which form part of the Equality & Diversity Women's Learning and Networking programme which helps promote the value of gender diversity across the organisation and to encourage women to pursue career goals.
Equality & Diversity hosted a panel discussion in Head Office on Thursday 7th march.
Pat moylan, Chairman, Arts Council and Susan Hayes, Economist and Author joined Sarah Claxton, manager, Employee Engagement, Communications and Diversity in what was a very innovative, engaging and interesting discussion.
In his opening address, Pat O'Doherty, Chief Executive said, “Organisations worldwide have realised the importance of equality and diversity to business competitiveness. ESB is a recognised leader in the area of gender diversity and has leveraged this within the organisation to deliver real business value. An engaged and agile organisation underpins delivery of our Corporate Strategy to 2025. Diversity and inclusion are at the heart of an engaged and agile organisation so it goes without saying that we must maintain our position as exemplars in this area. Currently 22% of our workforce is female and this is matched at management levels within the organisation. So while this is a very positive story for ESB, given the nature of work we are involved in, there is still much to be achieved.”
An engaged and agile organisation underpins delivery of our Corporate Strategy to 2025
Pat also noted that in 2012, ESB was one of eleven founding signatures to the Diversity Charter of Ireland in publicly stating ESB's commitment to diversity.
Also attending was Brid Horan, Executive Director, BSC & Electric Ireland, Paddy Hayes, Executive Director, Generation & Wholesale markets, John McSweeney, Head of Innovation, ESB and Donal Flynn, Group Finance Director.
A recording of the event will be made available shortly to share with those not in a position to attend on the day.
On Friday 8th march, ESB Innovation hosted and event which was opened by John McSweeney, Head of Innovation and facilitated by Paula King, Executive Coaching Solutions Ltd who presented a fun and interactive workshop on “Female Competencies & Emotional Intelligence”. Jacinta Ryan, Strategic Business Performance manager, ESB International, gave an interesting presentation about women's rights across the globe from the late 1800's to the present day. Closing the event was Joyce Farrell, HR manager, ESB Innovation who focused on gender diversity and the goal to build and support the best pool and network of female talent across the Innovation Directorate.
Electric Ireland hosted a fundraising event - Cupcakes and Coffee for Concern morning. This event was organised by Electric Ireland's Equality & Diversity Group - SPARKS.
350 staff also took part in a competition to celebrate IWD and the prizes included copies of ‘The Savvy Woman's Guide to Financial Freedom’ by Susan Hayes. We will include a review of this book in the next edition of EM.
For further information about ESB's Women's Learning and Networking Programme, please contact Bernie O'Connor, Equality & Diversity Officer 01 -7027239.
25TH ANNIVERSARY SERVICE OF THANKSGIVING
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Ballymena's ruby anniversary
THE CURRENT landlord Sean McLean, who was one of the original starts at the office four decades ago, says that while there have been a few changes over the years, the spirit of camaraderie from the old days still remains. He said, “There has always been a good mix of staff at Ballymena, many people moved to Ballymena from the surrounding rural areas and the mix of cultures led to a lively workspace!
“We’ve moved to a more open plan culture and all of the old, smaller offices for foremen and managers have gone. This has encouraged greater communication and everyone who works here has a good understanding of the local issues facing the network we look after.
“The surrounding site has changed too over the years. The old garages are gone, and in their place is the Apprentice Training Centre bringing on the next generation. Here’s to another 40 years.”
Facts about Ballymena:
• Ballymena is a large town in County Antrim, approximately 28 miles from Belfast
• It is also known as the town of ‘The Seven Towers’
• Liam Neeson, the Oscar-nominated actor was born and raised in Ballymena and was awarded the Freedom of Ballymena on 28 January 2013
#NIE #TWEETS
NIE HAS joined the world of customer service through social media with its first Twitter page. The Twitter page has been set up as another method customers can use to contact NIE about any queries that they may have. Gareth Hamilton, a contact agent based in Craigavon, will be monitoring the Twitter page 9am - 4.30pm Monday to Friday. He said: “The NIE Twitter page was launched on the 13 February to provide customers with another channel to contact NIE. I'm really thrilled to be involved in this progressive step and to be part of the small team leading this new service.”
