Patricia Callan appointed chair of Ireland Women in Finance Charter

Ms Callan, who is also the director of Financial Services Ireland, will stay in the role of chair of the Charter for two years

Tue, 20 Sep, 2022 - 17:10

Cáit Caden

Financial Services Ireland (FSI) director Patricia Callan has been appointed as chair of the steering group for Ireland’s Women in Finance Charter.

Ms Callan, a University of Limerick Masters graduate, will lead the group which was created to encourage the inclusion of more women in Ireland’s financial services industry. She said:

I firmly believe greater gender balance leads to a wider talent pool and a greater diversity of perspectives, leadership styles, innovation, and creativity in our industry.

"This means greater productivity and an even more significant contribution by financial services to the wider economy," she added.

The charter is part of Government’s Ireland for Finance programme, which launched in April.

It is made up of signatories from different organisations that have committed to getting more women to enter the financial services industry.

“By the end of this year, more than 50 women will have come through our customised aspire female talent acceleration programme, 55 women will have attended our IMI strategic leadership programme, and 15 women will have completed our eight month advance mentoring programme,” said managing director of An Post retail Debbie Byrne. An Post is one of the signatories involved with the charter.

The domestic and international financial services sector employs over 105,000 people, according to business lobby group Ibec.

Ms Callan’s role as chair of the charter is set to last two years.

Ms Callan also took up the role of director of industry representative group FSI earlier this year, taking over from Paul Sweetman.

She previously worked as the director of Drinks Ireland, an Ibec subgroup. Ms Callan held that post from May 2017 until February this year.

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