Women’s Leadership and Privilege: Who Gets a Seat at the Table?

Women are occupying increasing numbers of leadership positions in the workplace and across society, but they are still outnumbered by men in decision-making and senior leadership roles. For those women who do make it to the top, they often face systemic barriers, such as gender biases and societal expectations, that hinder their progress.

Often, there are further hurdles to overcome if you are a woman from a marginalised group, such as a woman of colour, from a working-class background, or a woman with disabilities.

Our panel of female leaders will explore the intersection of gender, power, and privilege when it comes to leadership positions. We’ll look at how certain women, particularly those from privileged backgrounds, have more access to leadership opportunities than women from marginalised groups.

They'll discuss how privilege can shape the distribution of power and explore if the gains in women’s presence in leadership roles are equitable. Is a more inclusive understanding of leadership – one that addresses the complexities of cultural backgrounds, class, and other aspects of identity – needed to ensure equal access to power for all women?

Meet our Speakers

Margaret Curran, Member of the House of Lords, Trainer on political process and impact, and women’s issues and leadership: Margaret has recently been appointed to the House of Lords and is one of 30 new Labour peers chosen by Prime Minister Keir Starmer. She is an international consultant on governance, political organisation, and gender equality, and a former MP in the UK and Scotland. She is an Associate of Global Partners Governance and has undertaken assignments in various countries for NDI, UNDP, the International Republican Institute, the Westminster Foundation for Democracy, ICPT and the OECD.

She has particular expertise in women’s rights, equality and social justice, and has been deeply involved in the UK Women’s movement for the past 40 years. Margaret has worked with the Women’s Association for Africa, facilitating their development program on political leadership and has delivered programs on gender sensitive political and parliamentary practice, and on empowering women in politics – in Morocco, Egypt, Libya, Lebanon, Kyrgyzstan and Malaysia – and developed strategic party-political work and political leadership in the Balkans and Eastern Europe.

Nisha Tandon OBE Founder and Director of ArtsEkta and Belfast Mela: Nisha Tandon is a social entrepreneur, founder and CEO of ArtsEkta, a social enterprise that works to platform minority ethnic communities through arts and culture. She is a board member of the Community Relations Council and of Creative Lives UK.

In 2007, Nisha initiated Northern Ireland’s first multi-cultural, multi-disciplinary arts festival, Belfast Mela, now attracting annual audiences of up to 60,000 people. In June 2014, she was the first Asian women from Northern Ireland to be awarded the prestigious UK Asian Women of Achievement Award for contribution to arts and culture and, later that month, was awarded an OBE for services to the minority ethnic sector in the 2014 Queen’s Honours List. In 2015, she won the British Indian Award for ‘Indian Spirit in the Community’, presented by Trade Next and BDO. In 2023, she was awarded an Honorary Doctorate from Queen’s University Belfast for distinction in public service.

Roseann Kelly MBE, CEO of The WiB Group: Roseann Kelly MBE joined Women in Business NI (WiBNI) in 2002, soon after the organisation was formed. She has been Chief Executive since 2009 overseeing a period of rapid growth and a successful sustainability strategy.

Roseann was recognised on Her Majesty the Queen’s Honours list in 2019 for her contribution to the NI Economy. She sits on the Department of the Economies Ministerial Strategic Advisory Forum, the Expert Panel for the Review of Apprenticeships and on the Youth Training Review Panel. She is also CEO and a Director of Diversity Mark NI Ltd which formed in 2017. She is Vice Chair of Women’s Tec NI and past Committee member of both WINET and the Women’s Fund for NI.

In 2016 she won the Chief Executive of the 3rd Sector (CO3) Award for Entrepreneurial Leader of the Year. In 2011 she was listed in the Belfast Business TOP 50 and was a participant on the Irish Institute Boston College Women in the Workplace Programme in 2010.

Teresa Buczkowska, Migrant Rights Campaigner: Teresa Buczkowska is a Polish-Irish migrant rights campaigner, journalist and commentator, with over 15 years of experience developing platforms for advancing immigrant and refugee inclusion. Her expertise is in creating and executing programmes to build the leadership of migrants and refugees and to increase their civic and political participation.

Teresa spent most of her professional life at the Immigrant Council of Ireland, where she created and ran programmes like the Migrant Leadership Academy and the Migrant Electoral Empowerment programme. She also led campaigns like the ‘Bloody Foreigners’ campaign to encourage blood donations and ‘We Are Here Too’, calling for improved services for migrant women who experienced domestic violence.

In 2021, Teresa was awarded a Fellowship by the Social Change Initiative to research migrant leadership. In 2022, she was selected as one of the Obama Scholars. In 2023, she founded The Migrant Vote newsletter, a dedicated space to re-imagine democracy in times of global migration. And, most recently, she was awarded the ‘Women of Europe – Women in Media Award’ by European Movement International.

Martina Quinn, CEO of Alice Public Relations: Martina Quinn is the Founder and CEO of Alice, an award-winning public relations agency. She provides strategic communications services for progressive organisations and campaigns, working on issues such as gender equality, reproductive rights, access to education and training opportunities, housing, migrant rights and anti-racism campaigns. In 2023, she launched the Alice Academy for Activists, an initiative that brings together aspiring activists and equips them, free of charge, with the skills they need to progress their work. In a voluntary capacity, she is the Chairperson of the Board of the Public Relations Consultants Association of Ireland, and a member of the Board of Management of ICCO, the International Communications Consultancy Organisation. She also sits on the Board of Women’s Aid.

Part of Imagine! Belfast Festival of Ideas & Politics>>