Women in the boardroom: Fidelma Healy

Fidelma Healy, chief operating officer at Gilt, talks about her career path and about the importance of working hard, doing a good job and not being afraid to self promote.

Could you tell us a bit about your career path and what your role involves now?
I trained as a teacher but with permanent jobs in short supply studied computers and human resources by night.  This led me into a career in the financial services and ICT sectors.  My first job was in a HR role in Systems Dynamics, Ireland’s longest established software company, and I then went on to be involved in establishing new tech companies in Ireland including Novell and Cognotec.  A move into the financial service sector included a role as operations director at Standard Life and working with Margaret Sweeney to establish Post Bank.

My current role is chief operating officer at Gilt. Launched in December 2007, Gilt.com is an innovative online shopping destination offering its members special access to the most inspiring merchandise every day at insider prices. It is the leader in the flash-sale space and attracts million of loyal shoppers to its daily flash sales on www.gilt.com.

In April 2011, Gilt announced that it setting up operations in Ireland and I was appointed to lead the company’s establishment here.  Today Gilt employs over 100 people in Ireland in its customer service centre in Limerick and its R&D centre in Dublin.

Do you think being a woman made it more of a challenge to get to you where you are and if so how?
Although sometimes I became aware of the fact that I was the only woman sitting at the management table I cannot say I was ever conscious of acting differently because I was a woman.  I have a strong work ethic instilled by my parents but in hindsight I probably pushed myself to achieve more because I was a woman working in a male dominated environment.

How has the environment changed for women in business over the last five or 10 years?
I don’t think it has changed significantly.  Women are probably accepted more easily into the workplace and women joining management ranks is the norm rather than the exception in a lot of business sectors.  However, it is still expected that the woman will be the one to make the sacrifices in her career when it comes to the home and children.  It is a great disappointment to me when I see really great female colleagues leaving the workforce because they feel they have to for family reasons.  I hope that one day soon the supports will be in place that this will no longer be required.

Do you believe it is important to have a more diverse range of skills, opinions and backgrounds in business and leadership positions, and if so why?
Yes. It’s important to have a diversity of views, opinions and experiences within any business or organisation.  The male and female perspectives can be quiet different and it critical for business success that both are represented within the business.

What do you believe makes a great leader?
Charisma.  And by that I don’t mean charming!  The charismatic leader is one who is energetic and enthusiastic and has a natural gift of being able to harness employees’ individual ambitions for the collective success of the business or organisation. Ultimately, business success depends on people success.

What particular traits do you think women in general bring to leadership roles?
Good leaders in general, whether male or female, show a genuine interest in their employees and can harness their individual ambitions and talents for their own good and for the benefit of the business.

How do you feel about gender quotas?
I understand the arguments which are made about gender quotas but in general I am not in favour of them.  I believe that women can perform and succeed equally as well as their male colleagues once they are attracted into an industry sector.  The legal profession is a great example of this.  In the tech sector there is an ongoing debate, particularly in Silicon Valley about the lack of women at boardroom level.  However, here in Ireland we have very strong representation of senior women in companies including Gilt, Facebook, LinkedIn, Fujitsu, Google and Microsoft, which I hope will encourage more young women to pursue a career in tech.  It offers great opportunities and you don’t have to be an engineer to take advantage of them.

What do you believe are the main obstacles to women getting into leadership roles and how do you think these can be overcome?
I think at the heart of the problem are the lack of supports for women who are full-time in the workforce and also have a family.  This is both within companies and within society generally. Flexible working arrangements in the workplace, equal division of responsibility between both parents, and a change in society’s attitude to working women will all encourage and support more women to progress their careers in the workplace.

Do you feel that being a positive role model to other women and to girls is important?
Yes definitely.

Are you actively doing anything to encourage more women into leadership positions? If so could you give me details?
I have been fortunate to have had leadership roles where I could influence the working environment to provide supports for female employees.  I also mentor female colleagues on their career paths.

What would your main tips and advice for success be?
Ignore the gender difference; get on with the job, do it well and don’t be afraid to self-promote.  Women are very shy about claiming credit for their work but if you don’t shout about the great work you are doing, no one else will do it for you.

Who or what has influenced you most?
It’s very rare that you work with people that you believe are incredibly good and I have been lucky to work with some great female role models.  Margaret Sweeney, the CEO of Postbank, had an amazing capacity to strike a good work-life balance despite being one of the most hardworking people I know.  Anne Campbell in Novell was never afraid to take on an issue and challenge what needed to be challenged.    At home my late father was an amazing mentor who inculcated a strong work ethic in all his children.  I’d like to think I am passing that same work ethic on to my own children.