'I think you’d find it hard to find any woman who hasn’t encountered bias in their career at some point'

Siobhan Lucey is driven by an incredibly strong sense of justice. Talented and tenacious, the UCC academic is enjoying a hugely successful career, and she is determined to bring as many people along with her as she can. Leave no man, or, more importantly, woman behind, is her modus operandi.

Originally from Macroom, and now living in Ovens, she graduated from UCC and achieved her PhD in Economics from the University of Glasgow. The following years saw her work in UCC, and hold various lecturing positions in the UK, including Senior Lecturer in Economics at the University of Stirling.

Reflecting on her diverse positions, Siobhan said there was a common theme of leadership throughout.

“A lot of my work gave me the opportunity to network and actively shape relationships with both professional bodies and industry – this gave me first hand insight into the value of building meaningful relationships when it comes to enhancing the quality of opportunities for everyone from students to staff to industry,” she said.

An endorsement of her contribution was being awarded a Senior Fellowship from the UK Higher Education Academy in 2018 – an award given to professionals who demonstrate a capacity to lead and influence in their arena.

Returning to UCC that year, she noticed an area that she felt deserved further attention: female leadership and career progression in universities.

Typically, she wasted no time and got herself a place on the Aurora Leadership Development programme for female leaders.

“I wanted to address the under-representation of women in leadership positions in higher education. Then I realised that many women, for a whole load of reasons, may not be in a position, or may not have time to do the Aurora programme, so I co-founded UCC’s first Women’s Network (Mná@UCC) in 2020 with some of my fellow Aurorans to bring elements of the programme to them.

“The network is open to all women who work in UCC and aims to promote and the visibility and professional development of all women in the university,” she said.

To that end, Siobhán has organised various workshops, provided practical s to , and hosted a range of inspirational speakers.

As the inaugural Mná@UCC President, I saw the value that could be achieved through collaboration and gaining access to a wider network, and through my research I came across Network Cork.

After reaching out to past-president Maria Desmond, she was invited to their business awards event in 2022.

“That night was a revelation for me. The positive vibes and energy in the room, the of all the women, it was just amazing, and leaving that night I knew I needed to connect the UCC network with them.”

Not surprisingly, Siobhan acted on that and, in 2023, collaborating with the then Network Cork President, Ingrid Seim, they held the first t Mná@UCC-Network Cork event on St Brigid’s Day.

Mary Ann Sieghart award-winning author of The Authority Gap, was the guest speaker and spoke about the gender bias that women face in the workplace.

“The vibrations of this event are still being felt today,” said Siobhán, with her trademark zeal.

For this year’s t event, the guest speakers were gender in the workplace experts, Professors David Smith and Brad Johnson, who spoke about male allyship in the workplace, and the event had the record number of male attendees for a Network Cork event with over 200 professionals from all sectors of the Cork business community.

As well as continuing to be a driving force behind the UCC network, she is now also part of Network Cork’s committee – ask a busy person, etc!

“A new role was created for me, Strategic Collaborations Officer, which is about building relationships with strategic partners and stakeholders, for example with organisations focused on diversity and inclusion and with the private sector."

Siobhan feels strongly about the value of Network Cork.

Working in a male-dominated discipline, has she ever encountered gender challenges?

“I think you’d find it hard to find any woman who hasn’t encountered bias in their career at some point,” she replied.

“For me, one of the many powerful things about Network Ireland Cork is that its hip includes women from all sectors including entrepreneurs, employees in indigenous and multinational organisations, non-profits, the arts, public sector and now higher education. 

That diversity is invaluable. My association with Network Ireland Cork has brought so many positives.

Winning the ‘Employee Shining Star’ award was a career highlight for her.

“It was a complete shock! I was initially speechless for once in my life,” she laughed.

The judges’ citation summed her contribution up perfectly: “The professional journey of this applicant displayed many examples of leadership in the workplace, from both a personal and professional perspective by creating awareness around citizenship and opportunities for engagement.

“Always a ‘Step-Ahead’, this worthy winner is influencing sustainable change in a very large organisation in a strategic manner across a range of challenges.

“I’m very ionate about what I do, and to have my efforts officially and externally recognised is definitely up there as a career highlight for me over my 20-plus year career,” she said.

That career is still taking Siobhán in new directions. She is part of a newly launched inter-university initiative called ‘PROMOTE RESEARCH’ designed to nurture early career female researchers and help them stay and progress in academia.

Based in Maynooth University, Siobhán is the UCC partner on the project: “There is a fall-off in females in the sector when women move from assistant to associate or full professor, what we call the ‘leaky academic pipeline’. It is improving, but there’s still further work to be done.

“A related interdisciplinary project is LIBRA, which employs simulation technology to provide gender equality-based leadership training to student leaders.”

When she is not working, Siobhán enjoys travelling and will get to enjoy more of that this month as she is embarking on a six-month research sabbatical which will see her visiting Australia and the USA.

This shining star means business – in every sense of the word.