The untapped potential of women who are currently out of the workforce is being highlighted in a new report launched today by the Further Education and Training Authority Solas and Dress for Success Dublin, a charity that supports women to achieve economic independence.
The study shows that 218,000 women in Ireland are deemed to be on ‘home duties’ with a potential for 16,000 of them to join the workforce.
Nikki Gallagher from Solas says women at home are gaining new skills everyday: 'They are essentially the CEO's of their own companies, they have budget skills, event skills, time management skills, so it's important to look at the skills on their CV and not their employment history'.
Out of the women at home, 57 thousand of them have third level qualifications, almost half of those have children aged 5 or under, while 75 percent have a partner in full time employment.
Solas says support needs to be in place to attract women back to work including flexible working models, further education and training, apprenticeships and returner programmes.
