Elaine O’Brien
Chief Financial Officer, Woodie’s
Redefine diversity, equality and inclusion (DE&I) with balanced leadership, female-focused training and mentoring initiatives — proving that it strengthens workplaces, builds talent pipelines and drives long-term business success.
In today’s retail world, no brand — whether online or on the high street — can afford to overlook DE&I. People now expect representation and fairness at every level, from product ranges to workplace culture, and that demand is only growing stronger.
Employees choose businesses with diverse leadership
Naturally, that’s exactly as it should be says Elaine O’Brien, Chief Financial Officer at Woodie’s, the DIY home and garden retailer. So, lean into it. Celebrate it. For one thing, DE&I makes a business more productive and agile. “If your workforce isn’t diverse, you can’t achieve diversity of thought,” she points out. “You need insight from female voices.”
You might be surprised to hear that from a DIY retailer. After all, it’s tempting to stereotype these businesses as ‘male-dominated.’ This is not the case with Woodie’s, however, which has been certified as a Great Place to Work (GPTW) in Ireland and Europe and a Best Workplace for Women. Its employee base is gender-balanced, and its leadership team is 57% female.
“I would have no interest in working for a business that didn’t have balanced leadership representation,” admits O’Brien. “Actually, I’d have no interest in working for a male-dominated organisation, full stop. Because where would I fit into it?”
Empowering women with the right training
Here’s another bonus offered by diverse, inclusive and equality-driven workforces: they are attractive to everyone. “If we were a male-dominated retailer, we would alienate half of the population,” argues O’Brien. “We don’t believe that DIY, home and garden is the remit of men. We don’t believe it’s the remit of women, either. With the rise of the shared household and the majority of families with dual working parents, we believe it’s for all.”
Nevertheless, if a business wants to make certain that its approach to DE&I isn’t just a ‘tick box,’ it should implement initiatives and strategies that truly empower women in the workplace and promote gender equality.
For example, a key initiative at Woodie’s is its Seeds for Success programme, delivered in conjunction with Retail Ireland Skillnet. The programme allows colleagues to achieve a level 6 qualification on the national framework. At last count, 54% of learners on the scheme were female.
When it comes to driving female representation at all levels, the company has developed an apprenticeship for colleagues who want to take the first step into management. Crucially, its cohort is always at least 50% female. That’s not just about doing the right thing by employees, says O’Brien. It also makes shrewd business sense.
“It’s important that we’re feeding our talent pipeline properly,” she adds. “If we empower women with the right training, they will be ready and able to move up the career ladder when senior roles become available.”
At last count, 54%
of learners on the
scheme were female.
Importance of role models and mentorships
To give female leaders the opportunity to network outside of the company’s formal internal structures, Woodie’s has partnered with IMAGE Business Club, a space for Irish businesswomen to connect with and learn from each other. Plus, every year, a number of female colleagues from across the company are selected to attend Executive Women’s Gathering — Ireland’s largest bespoke summit for female business executives — to collaborate, network and listen to empowering stories by different female speakers.
“There’s a huge responsibility for female leaders to share stories of their career journeys and be open and transparent about the challenges they face,” reasons O’Brien. It’s also incumbent on companies to listen carefully to their people. That’s why Woodie’s has created a Shadow Board — made up of colleagues from across the organisation — to mirror the leadership team and keep them on their toes.
“The purpose of the Shadow Board is to disrupt and challenge the way the leadership team thinks and keep us connected to colleagues who are starting their career journeys,” says O’Brien. “As part of that, these individuals are each assigned a mentor from the leadership team. We work closely with them to support them, help them achieve their goals and give them the confidence to be brave when it comes to their careers. Mentorship is a key driver of our diversity and equality agenda.”
Getting the buy-in of key decision-makers
The company also regularly reviews its family leave policies, so they are fit for purpose. “This includes surrogacy, parental leave, paternity leave and adoption policies,” says O’Brien. “We want to know that we’re supporting all our colleagues in a way that’s fair and up-to-date.” The potential of flexible working is also being considered by trialling a nine-day fortnight for interested staff.
For companies looking to roll out similar strategies, O’Brien insists: “We’ve done it successfully because we’ve had the support of our CEO and the leadership team,” she says. “Bringing key decision-makers and stakeholders on the journey with you is very important. It’s also about empowering and educating male colleagues to get their buy-in, but take things a step at a time. You will get there.”
Realistic milestones for DE&I
O’Brien recommends that organisations keep milestones realistic and not overreach. “We’ve been good at that,” she says. “Because, at the end of the day, we’re a business and we have to make sure that we’re making the right business decisions. Yes, we want a gender-balanced workforce that is representative of the communities we’re serving, but we have to get there in a considered way and appoint the right individuals to the right positions. If you make personnel decisions simply to hit a KPI (key performance indicator), you undo the spirit of what you are trying to achieve.”
Both women welcome the day when DE&I is the default position for all businesses. “It will be great when DE&I is normalised and ‘par for the course’,” says O’Brien. “Not having to think of it as a KPI should be every company’s North Star.”
Store Manager Ewelina Witek-Murdzek reveals how she progressed her career with support from her managers — and by stepping outside her comfort zone
Ewelina: Eighteen years ago, I graduated with a Masters in Horticulture and joined the Woodie’s team. I got married, became a mother and settled far away from home. I was passionate about plants and gardening, but I was also passionate about progression, improvement and pushing myself out of my comfort zone.
I was lucky enough to meet leaders in the company who recognised my strengths and believed in my capability, passion, positive attitude and desire for something greater for myself and others. I was given the opportunity to take a secondment as a Team Leader, and this was the first step in my management career.
Very quickly, I realised this was not the end of my career progression and that I was hungry for more. I moved to become Deputy Manager in our Bray store, County Wicklow, where I won Deputy Manager of the Year. A year later, I am very proud to say I became the Store Manager of Naas Road and currently the Store Manager of Sandyford in Dublin.
It is important to be surrounded by people who believe in you and who can support you, but more important is to believe in yourself, push yourself out of your comfort zone and have goals. I strongly believe it doesn’t matter where you are coming from, what gender you are or what stage you start at. What matters is the support you get, where you want to be — and how much you want it.
