TrailblazHER

It’s clear we face some very big and very real challenges. To address these, TrailblazHER™ will provide a broad compliment of experiences designed to engage female students, alumni and innovators, supporting them as they approach the unique challenges women face as job seekers, job creators and leaders. Alongside this, we will work with business and enterprise to identify and respond to systemic barriers that result in unequal access for females. Together we will design responsive actions and interventions that help move the dial. These initiatives have the potential to shape Irish industry.

Inspiring

• The TrailblazHER™ team will inspire female students at secondary level through bringing exciting experiential learning activities to their classrooms, exposing students to the broad range of opportunities available beyond second level.

Role Modelling

• TrailblazHER™ will deliver an impactful digital media promotional campaign featuring relatable role models across a broad range of disciplines. This campaign will run on an ongoing basis and be delivered through the most used social media platforms for the chosen demographic.

Raising Awareness

• Through a communications and engagement campaign TrailblazHER™ will work to support increasing female participation in fields where they are underrepresented.

Scholarships

• TrailblazHER™ will bring a range of exciting new scholarships delivering supported opportunities for female students in areas where females are underrepresented.

Personal Development

• We look forward to bringing the 'Be a TrailblazHER' programme, as an optional opportunity for all females at TU Dublin over the coming academic year. What research strongly shows us is that even though women are highly qualified and highly prepared, that they still lack confidence in reaching for opportunities that they are wholly suitable for. The ‘Be a TrailblazHER’  programme is all about enhancing skills in confidence, communication and personal development, so that females advance from TU Dublin and reach for the roles and opportunities that we know they are capable of achieving.

Network Building

• Our community will support students to build their personal network and professional network through events, workshops and masterclasses with a wide variety of speakers from industry.

Coaching

• To support students with preparing for the world of work, we will pair aspiring final year students with alumni mentors from business for coaching and career mentorship. These four sessions will take place on a one-to-one basis and provide participants with an opportunity to build their network, find out more about roles and industries, get feedback on their CV, run a practice interview, receive introductions and many more valuable interactions. This coaching will ensure that no student is left behind and that all students, regardless of personal circumstance, will advance from TU Dublin with the contacts, knowledge and the confidence to succeed.

Supporting Enterprise

• TU Dublin will support enterprise in playing their part by developing and making available a suite of digital badges in areas like unconscious bias, systemic bias, bias within recruitment processes, best practice EDI etc. These learning opportunities will support enterprise in ensuring a more fair and equitable workplace for current and future employees.

Innovation Skills

• To stimulate innovation and increase the number of females considering roles as innovators and entrepreneurs, TrailblazHER™ will deliver an ongoing programme of workshops and experiences to encourage idea exploration and concept evaluation skills development.

Female Founders

• Building upon our legacy of successful female-led companies supported through TU Dublin, TrailblazHER™ will develop a Female Founders Network for allyship, support and advocacy.

Enterprise Development

• TrailblazHER™ will be launching a business start-up programme for female student entrepreneurs and females in the Dublin region, to support an increase in the funnel of female applicants applying for and securing places on nationally funded start-up programmes.

Contribution to Industry

• Currently, in Ireland, only 25% of senior leadership roles are held by women. TrailblazHER™ Innovate through its activities, will increase the number of females with innovation leadership skills. Those who choose employment as their next step will bring these skills into the workforce, contributing to the advancement of more females to senior roles.

TrailblazHER™ is designed to develop and embed initiatives that advance gender equality for all people who identify as female. We recognise that the term 'female' is not a catch-all category. Our work towards advancing opportunities for females is done with an intersectional lens, understanding that not all females experience discrimination and disadvantage equally. We seek to include all females, in all of their diversities.