As many as four out of ten female executives in Galway believe they have missed out on a raise or promotion due to gender – and a further 46% said their gender had also played a role in their missing out on a key assignment and more than half (56%) believe it impacted on a chance to get ahead.

That’s according to a new survey conducted by Galway Chamber, which revealed that one in five  female executives also believe their gender had resulted in missing out on one or more of these opportunities over the last year – while three out of eight feel that men and women are not treated equally in their current workplace.

These results come from a Galway Chamber survey of more than 100 Galway based female corporate leaders and executives, which was conducted in advance of International Women’s Day.

The survey was conducted over a three-week period in February, issued to members of Galway Chamber.

More positively, it also found that almost two out of three (64%) female executives say they have seen a rise in the number of female corporate leaders in their company or organisation in recent times.

A total of 62% of female executives also believe that gender equality has increased in Ireland in the last year.

Although six out of ten (61%) female executives would characterise the level of gender equality in Galway as “positive, but more progress needed”, this is slightly down on the 64% who held that view when the same question was posed last year.

Also positive were the 92% of female executives who said they believe women have achieved more equal rights in the workplace over the last 10/15 years, up from 86% who were of that view a year ago.

When asked which aspects of equality they had seen progress on in their workplace since they began working with their current employer, 57% said they had seen advances in equal promotion opportunities, 53% on the equal treatment of genders and avoiding discrimination, 51% on the gender spread of leadership and 36% on equal pay.

For more, read this week’s Connacht Tribune.

Connacht Tribune Digital Edition App

Download the Connacht Tribune Digital Edition App to access to Galway’s best-selling newspaper.

Click HERE to download it for iPhone and iPad from Apple’s App Store, or HERE to get the Android Version from Google Play.

Or purchase the Digital Edition for PC, Mac or Laptop from Pagesuite  HERE.

Get the Connacht Tribune Live app
The Connacht Tribune Live app is the home of everything that is happening in Galway City and county. It’s completely FREE and features all the latest news, sport and information on what’s on in your area. Click HERE to download it for iPhone and iPad from Apple’s App Store, or HERE to get the Android Version from Google Play.

ALDI Ireland sourced €20 million of locally produced food and drink from Galway based suppliers last year, according to its annual Economic Impact Report.

The company said it also paid €7.5 million in wages and salaries last year and opened two new stores in Tuam and Mountbellew.

In 2022, ALDI partners with eleven local Galway producers, including key relationships with Sean Loughnane and Arrabawn Dairies – as it began working with 15 new Irish suppliers for the first time.

Operating eleven stores in Galway, ALDI employs over 230 full time staff in the county. All available job opportunities in County Galway can be found on the ALDI Recruitment website.

A total of 45 new jobs were created in ALDI’s new Tuam and Mountbellew stores in 2022. These new store openings form part of ALDI’s dedicated West of Ireland expansion programme which will see the company invest over €63 million and create 140 new full-time jobs and 350 construction jobs across Connacht over the next two years.

ALDI’s stores support multiple charities across Galway at a local level. Each store is part of ALDI’s food waste reduction programme, with ALDI’s Galway stores having donated over 74,000 meals through FoodCloud to local charities.

Each store is also part of ALDI’s Community Grants network with East Galway and Midlands Cancer Support and Voices for Down Syndrome Galway just some of the local charities that availed of the €500 bursary grant in 2022.

In addition to donating to local charities, ALDI also supports local communities through its tree planting initiative, with a commitment to planting one million native Irish woodland trees across Ireland by 2025. To date, ALDI has planted over 540,000 trees across the country. ALDI has planted 35,000 trees across County Galway.

ALDI Ireland Group Managing Director Niall O’Connor said the goal was to make a positive impact in every local community that their stores serve.

“We’re delighted to announce that we spent over €20 million sourcing locally produced food and drink from Galway suppliers in 2022, while investing over €42 million in the county since opening our first Galway store in West City Centre Retail Park in 2000,” he said.

Parents with children will continue to feel the effects of spiralling inflation more than any other sector, according to a new survey.

The research, carried out by Revolut, revealed that the average consumer in Ireland is spending 17.8% more, year on year – but this survey of 1,000 people found that 56% of them think prices will go up even more this year.

In contrast, 15% think prices will go down in 2023, with 18-24 year olds being the most optimistic with 31% thinking prices will go down – but 45–54-year-olds are the most pessimistic as 63% think prices will increase further this year.

When asked which types of households those polled think are most impacted by inflation and high prices, 69% of people said parents with children.

Despite some expenses such as children’s clothing only increasing by 5.8% year on year, the number of customers paying for childcare services has gone up 185%, year on year, likely due to the relaxation of covid restrictions.

Other answers of which households are most affected by inflation include retired people (36%), students living with roommates (30%), and singles (24%). As supermarket spending has increased 14.3%, price rises are impacting all walks of life.

Furthermore, salaries haven’t kept up with inflation according to the research, as only 10% said they had a pay rise last year to match inflation.

Overall, 37% of people said their salary didn’t increase last year; 21% said their salary wasn’t increased and don’t think it will rise this year either.

Only 5% of people said that although their salary didn’t increase last year, they will negotiate it this year, and 7% think their salary will increase this year. However, 3% said their salary decreased last year.

The survey revealed that if those polled were given an extra €10,000, 15% would spend it on essentials before prices go up further; 15% would save it, 13% would put it aside in a current account they have easy access to, and 11% would spend it on experiences such as travelling.

The rise of inflation has meant that 38% of people in Ireland are looking to save more money for a rainy day. 36% feel the rise of inflation has taught them how to consume less overall, 13% are looking to focus their money on experiences rather than material goods.

Despite the rise in the cost of living, Revolut recently reported that consumers in Ireland have boosted their generosity. Donations to charity increased by 14.6%, and 8.9% more people gave to charity in January 2023, compared to January the previous year.

The survey suggests these figures could grow further, as 18% of people plan to donate more this year than in previous years.