Susan McGarry was just 30 years old when she became Managing Director of Ecocem Ireland and UK, a low carbon cement company which she initially joined as an intern.
McGarry, a civil engineer from Swords, was the first ever woman to take on the top leadership position at the company and the youngest to boot.
As a result, McGarry says she faced some skepticism from colleagues as she stepped into this new role in early 2020. The main comments she recalls were “too young, not ready,” and her favourite, that she “wasn’t serious enough”.
“You do hear that and it does get in,” McGarry tells Róisín Ingle on the latest episode of the Women’s Podcast in advance of International Women’s Day on Saturday March 8th.
Sally Rooney: ‘I enjoy writing about men ... the dangerous charisma of the oppressor class’
Alzheimer’s: ‘I’ve lost my friend and my companion,’ says Úna Crawford O’Brien of fellow Fair City actor Bryan Murray
Ryan Adams at Vicar Street: A gig that nobody will forget anytime soon, but perhaps not for all the right reasons
Meghan Markle’s new podcast: An ego-fluffing conversation underlining the culture gap between Ireland and the US
“I wanted to prove myself big time. I put the pressure internally on myself that I needed to do this job better than anyones ever done this before,” she says.
In 2024, McGarry moved into the position of Director of Public Affairs and Sustainability at Ecocem, a role which she says allows her to work on the bigger picture, shaping policy and driving sustainable change in construction.
McGarry was just one of three guests who joined Ingle on the podcast this week to discuss thriving in male-dominated industries. Also on the panel were horticulturist Rebecca Hegarty and Laboratory Technician Apprentice Bronwyn Villis, who explained why they went into their chosen fields and the challenges they’ve faced along the way.
Also in this episode, Irish Times Features writer Ella Sloane highlights some of the events happening around Ireland to mark International Women’s Day, including a free guided tour exploring how women are represented in a selection of works at the National Gallery and a march against gender violence taking place in Dublin city.
You can listen back to the full episode in the player above or wherever you get your podcasts.
