Today is International Women’s Day and the theme for this year is Be Bold For Change. This is a day and a slogan that we can get behind, mainly because we see strong powerful women working to make the world a better place everywhere we look…many in our very office. In honour of the day, we put together a list of Irish women that are rocking it in their respective fields, all of whom are creating amazing content in one shape or another.
Beta Bajgart, Photographer
We just love the work of Dublin-based Beta Bajgart. Hailing from the Czech Republic, Beta has been living in Ireland since 2004 and is a commercial photographer, with her work featuring in magazines and on online platforms. She is also a stills photographer on the RTÉ show Fair City. It is in her creative photographic work, however, that Beta’s ability to capture the essence of people and tell a story in a single shot really shines through.
She is particularly worthy of a mention because of the launch of her photography book A Woman’s Work to coincide with International Women’s Day. This book features a collection of portraits of truly inspirational women, depicting them in creative roles that have been traditionally associated with men. Amongst the photographs, there’s a farmer, a pilot, an undertaker, an industrial abseiler and a blacksmith.
One of Beta’s aspirations for the project is for younger girls to take inspiration from the women photographed and to see them as role models. All proceeds from A Woman’s Work will go to the National Women’s Council of Ireland. An exhibition showcasing a selection of photographs from the book will also be on display at Dublin Castle until 8 April.
Caroline Collins, Phd, Group Head of Communications and Engagement at Irish Life
A one woman powerhouse with a passion for strategic communications and a serious mission to build a community of engaged employees through authentic and lively conversations. With a pedigree that includes an honours degree in Psychology and a Phd in Culture Change from Trinity College Dublin, and an MA in Political Communications from DCU, her passion for enabling cultural change through communication is backed up by her finely honed skills and flawless word craft.
Caroline is a champion for diversity and in our opinion, makes the case very strongly for having more women in leadership.
Emma Donoghue, Writer
When it comes to creating compelling content, Emma Donoghue is no slouch. She’s an accomplished novelist, short story writer, and playwright, whose work crosses mediums, formats and time periods. From contemporary Ireland to 19th-century Britain, her fiction tells the stories of women often underrepresented.
Her 2010 book, Room, was shortlisted for the Man Booker prize and after that, she helped to turn the book into a screenplay. It was her first experience with writing a screenplay, although she’s written many plays for the stage and radio. For her efforts, she was rewarded with the Independent Spirit Award for Best First Screenplay and also nominated for an Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay.
Emma has never been one to shy away from writing about the parts of Irish culture that others tend to avoid. Whether it’s a fasting girl of post-famine Ireland or the coming-of-age tale about a young woman discovering her sexuality, this is one female author who embraces her Irish roots and her womanhood.
Suzanne Jackson, Blogger
Suzanne Jackson, more widely known as SoSueMe, hails from Dublin and has firmly established herself as one of Ireland’s foremost beauty and fashion bloggers. Jackson started her blog in 2010, when the blogging landscape looked quite different (a lot more sparse!) to how it does today. SoSueMe was met with plenty of backlash and negativity at the outset of her blog but knew there was a niche in the market for a leading Irish beauty and fashion blogger so stuck with her instincts and refused to throw in the towel.
Six years later, Jackson has two best-selling books under her belt, her own hugely popular makeup line, consistently sold-out workshops and talks, and can receive thousands of euros from a brand for sponsored tweets and blog posts. Products that she mentions on her site or social media regularly sell out within days of her referencing them, a sure sign of the strong trust and following she has built amongst her demographic due to her content. Jackson has always maintained the importance of keeping her content organic and truly valuable to her audience, rather than producing brand driven or forced content, and the proof is in the pudding…just ask her 800,000 monthly readers.
Sinead Gleeson, Journalist
Few people in this country champion women writers as much as Sinéad Gleeson, while simultaneously working so tirelessly and prolifically on their own work. Gleeson has carved an impressive career over the past couple of decades, initially as a successful arts journalist, but more recently, as a curator of literature and an author in her own right.
With enough energy to power a small city, Gleeson makes time to present The Book Show on RTÉ Radio One, chair talks, edit three acclaimed book anthologies (including two collections of women writers, The Glass Shore and The Long Gaze Back) and contribute essays to the Banshee literary journal and RTÉ Radio One’s Sunday Miscellany. She also writes short stories and flash fiction, some of which have been shortlisted for major literary prizes.
Tantalisingly, we get the impression that the best is yet to come, as Gleeson is working on her debut novel and a nonfiction collection.
Gina Miltiadou, founder and managing director at Zahra Media Group
A tribute to the awesome, creative women who inspire us would not be complete without a hat tip to our one and only managing director. Gina Miltiadou brings limitless creativity (and glamour!) to our Bray office and heads up the Zahra custom team.
The South African kick-started her career in TV research in Johannesburg before moving to Sydney where she ran a leading custom publishing house. A chance encounter with an Irish gent led her to Ireland and set up shop with Zahra Media Group in Dalkey in 2003. The first magazine produced by the publishing company was Easy Food and it went straight to number one in its category.
Fourteen years on and Gina’s business has grown to include several best-selling consumer titles and a custom content wing that services the content needs of many of Ireland’s leading brands – thanks in large part to Gina’s boundless ideas, excellent customer service and skillful management.
And if you’re looking for inspiring female content creators, drop us a note. We’ve got an office full of them.
