Dr Orlaigh Quinn Trail Blazing Secretary General

Podcast – Women in Leadership

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.