Dragon's Den is on tonight at 9:30pm on RTÉ One. Here, panelist Chanelle McCoy shares her opinions on gender equality in the workplace with Sean O'Rourke.
"Men and women in business, we have different skill sets. Women naturally probably have a bit more empathy about them."
That’s the word from Chanelle McCoy, one fifth of a majority-female panel on the new season of Dragon’s Den, a panel that includes Barry O’Sullivan, Eleanor McEvoy, Alison Cowzer and Gavin Duffy.
According to Chanelle: "Women need men in business and men need women in business. We work very well together. It’s not that men or women are better in business, we have different skill sets."
Speaking to Cormac Ó hEadhra on the Today programme, Chanelle wasn’t shy about pointing out the areas where women in business are possibly more skilled than men.
We didn’t quite hear her opinion on those areas where men out-skill women, but perhaps if one of the male dragons appears for an interview in the coming weeks, he could enlighten us? (Although let’s face it, in doing so, he’d be risking a swift clip around the ear.)
Anyway, back to Chanelle McCoy, who expanded a little on those skills which, in her experience, are more evident in women.
"Women naturally probably have a bit more empathy about them. It’s very important to have that skill set when you’re implementing change in your company, when you are trying to gently encourage people, nudge them along.
"I look at our senior managers, in our company, and they sometimes have a better skill set than the men in terms of bringing people along with them."
The new season of Dragon’s Den hit the RTÉ television screens on Sunday night, the first time it has featured a majority-female panel. ‘Dragon’s Den, eight years ago, when that was set up in Ireland, you would never have considered having three women,’ said Chanelle.
"It’s great now, eight years later, we have three women on Dragon’s Den."
Chanelle McCoy is known to many as the wife of jockey AP McCoy, but she is also a successful business woman who has been running a multi-million euro business – Chanelle Medical – for well over a decade.
The Chanelle Group was set up by her father, Michael Burke, and specializes in animal veterinary products and generic medicine for humans.
And during the course of the interview, she went on to address a question from presenter Cormac Ó hEadhra on the notion of the glass ceiling facing women in business.
"I can only speak from my own experience, the pharmaceutical industry, and the fashion industry.
"Women are very much embraced there, in senior management positions and director roles. We are not subjected to the glass ceiling. However, I am very aware that there are other industries… my sister is a stockbroker in London, she finds it very challenging from time to time."
Chanelle was born in Galway but now lives in Berwickshire, in England, with her husband and two children. And every week, she returns home to oversee the business of Chanelle Medical, which is based in Loughrea, County Galway.
You can see Chanelle every Sunday night on RTÉ Television, as part of that high-powered panel on Dragons’ Den.
To listen to the full interview from the Today programme, click here.
Watch brand new Dragon's Den tonight on RTÉ One at 9:30pm.
