Fiona McGarry is a freelance journalist and radio producer. Her radio documentaries have been funded by the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland (BAI) and the Simon Cumbers Media Challenge Fund. She is a regular contributor to The Irish Times and The Irish Daily Mirror and happiest when well caffeinated in front of a good box set. She looks at some inspirational women whoare currently making the headlines so far in 2015.Â
NóirÃn O’Sullivan
NóirÃn O’Sullivan has been a trailblazer for women in policing over her stellar career. A track record in tackling drugs and gangs propelled O’Sullivan through the ranks of An Garda SÃochána over more than three decades. At the close of 2014, she crowned her professional achievements and made history by becoming the first ever female Garda Commissioner.
Over the course of this year, this working mum will be closely watched as she ramps up her mission to reform and modernise a police force that has been beset by scandals.
Whatever lies ahead in the next twelve months, the new commissioner is well equipped for the challenges. Beneath the affable and diplomatic exterior, O’Sullivan combines acumen, experience and qualifications from leading institutions including Harvard University, the Michael Smurfit Business School, Trinity College and the FBI.
Leandra Medine
Strange as it may seem, a woman who openly admits to wearing ‘bad pants’ and avoiding make-up is taking fashion journalism by storm in 2015. Last year, 24-year-old Leandra Medine found time to write a memoir, get married and garner tens of thousands of followers for her hit blog www.manrepeller.com. Fashion blogging is a highly competitive space, but Medine has struck a chord with women whose clothing choices are driven by design and not the desire to attract men. She recently told Vanity Fair her readers are ‘girls who are interested in and care about fashion but are also obsessed with becoming smarter’. Blog posts combine musings on fashion, feminism and female conformity, with hilarious – and often profound – results.
As well as publicising her autobiography Man Repeller: Looking for Love, Finding Overalls, Medine will be to the forefront in bringing a feminist aesthetic into fashion commentary.
Bayan Mahmoud Al-Zahran
It’s a fairly safe bet that even the most ardent feminist doesn’t obsess over women’s rights as she heads off to meet the girls for coffee. She’s probably more concerned about choosing between Costa and Starbucks. But what if her destination is Starbucks in the Saudi Arabian capital, Riyadh? She’ll be with the girls alright, because, under Sharia Law, there’s strict segregation. Women are consigned to the back of the restaurant. She certainly won’t be worried about what to wear, or finding a parking space. To avoid the Religious Police, it’s best to cover up in an abaya and niqab, and women in Saudi are still banned from driving.
In a country where going for coffee could land a woman in prison, Bayan Mahmoud Al-Zahran, Saudi’s first licensed female lawyer, is determined to take on the system. One of Saudi Arabia’s most influential women, Al-Zahran’s all-female legal practice is set to take on ground-breaking cases in 2015.
Sonia Flynn
Tasked with doubling the workforce of Facebook in Ireland, Sonia Flynn, the company’s MD in this country, won’t be slouching in 2015.
The Kildare native and mum-of-one leads the 500-strong Facebook staff at the company’s newly-opened Irish offices on Grand Canal Square in Dublin.
Flynn joined the company’s communities division in 2009, following a recruitment process that involved ten interviews. As gruelling at that sounds, it was less than half the number of screening rounds (22) she’d gone through to secure her previous position at Google Ireland. In 2011, she became Facebook’s Irish MD and one of the youngest women in Europe in such a role.
Flynn believes the Tech sector offers flexibility by focusing more on results than hours spent at the desk. Holder of an MA in German Studies, she has clearly never let the lack of a technology qualification hold her back. Flynn puts her stellar rise down to ‘common sense’ and ‘passion for the product’.
Ava DuVernay
Hollywood’s ‘celluloid ceiling’ is notoriously difficult for women to crack. Just seven of the 100 major movies set for release in 2015 have been directed by women. Nonetheless, the issue of gender is definitely on the agenda at the big studios, with work by directors including Angelina Jolie and Ava DuVernay going on release this year.
DuVernay has battled discrimination on the grounds of both race and gender to make her 2008 directorial debut – a history of hip-hop, This is the Life. Her latest movie, Selma, which chronicles Martin Luther King’s voting rights campaign, is hotly tipped to take an Oscar.
While there was some surprise when DuVernay missed out on the Golden Globe for Best Director, the nomination itself was groundbreaking. The 42-year-old was just the fifth female ever to be nominated in that category and the very first African-American woman.
Duvernay has already scooped top directorial accolades at the Sundance and Tribeca film festivals, and we’re hoping that will see her add an Oscar to the list very soon.
