1. Workshop Overview
• Country: Ireland
• Date:
• Venue: Online
• Organising Partner: RLP
• Number of participants:
• Stakeholder groups represented: Green tech startups, academic researchers, policymakers from the Department of Environment, and women’s advocacy groups.
2. Summary of Workshop Agenda
The workshop focused on addressing gender disparities in the green technology sector. The agenda included a keynote on “The State of Green Tech in Ireland,” followed by two breakout sessions: one identifying systemic barriers and the other brainstorming policy-driven solutions. The day concluded with a collaborative session to synthesize key recommendations for the EU-level blueprint.
3. Key Insights from Breakout Sessions
Breakout Session 1
– Barriers:
– Summary of major identified barriers:
Lack of access to venture capital for women-led startups, unconscious bias in recruitment, and limited mentorship networks.
– Quotes or representative statements:
“The funding gap is real; investors often default to patterns that exclude women founders,” noted a participant from a local startup.
Breakout Session 2
– Opportunities and Solutions:
– Proposed solutions:
Establishing a dedicated mentorship program, implementing diversity quotas in publicly funded projects, and creating tax incentives for investors supporting women-led green tech.
– Stakeholder perspectives:
Policymakers highlighted the need for data-backed evidence to support new legislative measures, while startups emphasized the immediate need for capital access.
– Prioritised recommendations:
1. Launch an ‘Ireland Women in Green Tech’ accelerator.
2. Implement gender-disaggregated reporting for all state-funded green grants.
4. Policy Input for the EU-Level Blueprint
• National-level policy gaps identified:
Absence of specific financial instruments for women-led startups in green tech.
• Proposed policy measures:
A pan-European guarantee scheme for female-led SMEs in the climate sector.
• Relevance for EU-level policy harmonisation:
Standardizing data collection on gender in green tech across EU member states.
• Suggestions for inclusion in the Policy Blueprint:
Integrate explicit KPIs regarding gender representation in the EU Green Deal’s supporting initiatives.
5. Participation & Feedback Summary
Participant feedback was overwhelmingly positive, with 90% of attendees rating the workshop as ‘very useful’. Participants highlighted the breakout sessions as the most valuable part of the day, though many requested more networking time for future events.
6. Annexes
• Signed attendance sheet
• Completed breakout materials
• Photos (optional)
• Agenda
• Stakeholder list