BELFAST entrepreneur Nuala Murphy has been confirmed as interim head of business at Diversity Mark NI, the awarding body of the Diversity Mark accreditation.
She founded Lean in Belfast in 2013, the volunteer-run chapter of the non-profit group created by Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg.
The group, which began as a small network of peers from all walks of professional life, now boasts 3,000 members across Ireland.
During lockdown last year, Nuala also set up the Women’s Investor Ready Project, a community interest group dedicated to changing the stat of investment in women entrepreneurs regionally.
She will join Diversity Mark on a 14-month basis while the firm’s current head of business Christine White, is on maternity leave.
With a commitment to building a more diverse and inclusive workplace, Diversity Mark enables organisations to identify and take action on any institutional barriers facing underrepresented groups. Founded in 2016 by Women in Business, Diversity Mark now represents 80,000 employees in Northern Ireland.
In her new role, Nuala will bring her skills and global experience in diversity and inclusion and will be focused on expanding Diversity Mark’s reach to include the rest of Ireland and the UK, helping the organisation achieve its objectives in 2021 and beyond.
She will channel her passion and commitment to building a more equal society, working with companies from all sectors as they commit to advancing diversity and inclusion to benefit all employees.
Nuala said: “It is a real honour to carry on Christine’s mantle as head of business at Diversity Mark, an organisation that has become such a vital proponent of workplace inclusivity across Northern Ireland.
“For years I've been an impassioned advocate for women’s equality and have a deep commitment to creating workplaces where every person has a seat at the table and a chance to be heard. Never has there been a better time to have organisations sign up to commit to diverse and inclusive strategies and practice and I am very much looking forward to building on the momentum and success that the Diversity Mark team has achieved to date.
“I am calling on companies and those I have worked with in the past to get in touch with Diversity Mark NI to begin their diversity journey.”
In her first month in post, Nuala will be involved in a fireside chat “Emerging Stronger” with Danske Bank’s Gender Diversity Network.
The event will be an honest conversation of how challenges of lockdown were overcome and how to thrive in the new normal, with Nuala talking about her experience during the past year and how it led to her taking up her new role with Diversity Mark NI.
