By Business & Finance 
This International Women’s Day, Business & Finance is looking back at its own history at a story published in our 25th December, 1986 edition.
This International Women’s Day, Business & Finance is looking back at its own history at a story published in our 25th December, 1986 edition. Priced at IR£1.50, readers were asked, “Women in Business – gimmick or reality?” This was accompanied by an image of Mairead McEntee of MEK Foods, who at the time was the “first and only woman … to be assisted under the IDA’s Enterprise Development Programme.” The article suggests that, by being a mother and housewife, Mairead seemed “an unlikely candidate for this programme.”
The intervening years have shown that women in business did, thankfully, become a reality. No longer relegated to second class status, women can now run, organise and work in business without having their marital or parental status called into conversation. Although we have made stringent strides, work must still be done to erase gender disparity. A 2020 report stated that the average woman earns 14.4% less than her male counterparts in Ireland.
While we look to the future, it is important to remember where we have came from. As such, we have republished our feature on Mairead McEntee below.
Click on the image below to view 1986 digital magazine cover story
