Back to News

The Credit Union Sector Celebrates International Women’s Day 2024

Today is International Women’s Day, an occasion which is pertinent within the credit union sector as an opportunity to celebrate the success of the movement in which owes great thanks to female leaders since its formation.

#ABCUL #Credit Unions #Updates

Friday 8 March 2024

Today is International Women’s Day, an occasion which is pertinent within the credit union sector as an opportunity to celebrate the success of the movement in which owes great thanks to female leaders since its formation.

Credit unions and women have a rich and intertwined history in GB. Research conducted by ABCUL found a total of 60% of CEO’s or equivalent in their roles were women.

The GB Chapter of the Global Women’s Leadership Network (GWLN) was re-launched at the ABCUL Annual Conference in 2023. Since the re-launch, the Network has hosted many sessions including a two-part training course on building female resilience, led by Chief Executive of PNM People, Kerry McKevitt. Furthermore, the Network partook in a joint webinar with ABCUL’s Young Professionals Network which highlighted the importance of both networks and their potential to drive the credit union sector forward. Coming up, the GWLN is holding a breakout session at the ABCUL Annual Conference on Friday 15 March in which CEO of CU eLeadership Academy, Sandra McDowell will be speaking.

Ruksana Kauser is a member of the GWLN Steering Committee and when asked to reflect on the Network for International Women’s Day Ruksana said:

“The GWLN has helped me move away for having ‘imposter syndrome’ when attending meetings and being on committees. I have felt out of place in the world of work until twelve months ago when the GWLN has made me feel at home”.

This year Ruksana represented credit unions on a panel at the Women in Finance Conference and recently appeared on the Global Credit Union Podcast to discuss the work of the ABCUL Inclusivity Group – both events highlighted the hard work of the GWLN.

Reflecting on female representation in the Irish sector, Donore Credit Union in Dublin is now 65 years old, which was created by two sisters with a vision for how they wanted to shape the movement.

The credit union came from humble beginnings when in 1957, Miss Teresa McGeehan invited a collection of people to her home to discuss credit unions which was the first of a series of ‘fireside chats’. Two of those in attendance were sisters Eileen and Angela Byrne who eventually ran with the idea, interesting their neighbours and in April 1958 the group elected Mr Lewis Lawless as the credit union’s first Chairman.

This story illustrates how it was women who built the foundation of Ireland’s first credit union over 65 years ago.

“On International Women’s Day we are celebrating the achievements of the GB Chapter of the Global Women’s Leadership Network in the year since its re-launch. The Network has already experienced such success and I look forward to seeing what more they conquer in the year to come” said ABCUL CEO Robert Kelly.

Recent News

Read the latest news within the credit union sector, featuring stories from local credit unions, comments from the Association and the important talking points facing the sector across the globe.

Please contact press.enquiries@abcul.org for enquiries to our Communications team.