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Inspirational Story: Bernie O'Connor, ESB - Secrets to Success – How to Maximise the Impact of your PWN Dublin Partnership

Published on November 27, 2024 by Rebecca Fountain

Bernie O'Connor, ESBBernie O'Connor, ESBWe recently had the great honour of sitting down with one of our long-serving members to discuss what PWN Dublin meant to her.

Bernie O’Connor, Diversity Equity and Inclusion Specialist is the Company Lead for ESB, and has been with PWN Dublin since 2016, as a member. Since joining the network, Bernie has worked tirelessly to onboard ESB as a Corporate Partner with PWN Dublin. Bernie leverages the PWN Dublin network within ESB to enable employees to really benefit from what PWN Dublin offers to both their corporate partners and members. 

Bernie took part in the PWN Dublin Group Mentoring Programme, initially as a mentee, and subsequently, she was onboarded as an extremely popular Mentor for the programme. 

We wanted to gain some insights from Bernie to help our other corporate partners understand how to maximise their impact with PWN Dublin. We also wanted to understand what PWN Dublin has meant to Bernie on a more personal level. 

Here’s what we found out…..

What is your role and how did you become involved with PWN Dublin? 

I work for the DEI Team at ESB as a Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Specialist – reporting to DEI Manager, People & Sustainability. 

Before joining PWN Dublin, ESB worked with several gender-focused groups, developed for niche segments: engineering, IT, and leadership-level roles. We were looking for a partnership that reached a broader audience with cross-over in industry, role seniority or geographical boundaries – something that could respond to the requests of ALL the women in our organisation. 

Initially, we attended many sharing and learning events with PWN Dublin, then we got involved in hosting events (offsite and onsite) and providing speakers for events. 

PWN Dublin’s membership fees represent incredible value for money, which is why ESB is so ready to give back and provide additional value to PWN, through volunteering opportunities or hosting events.

What was the initial driver for you to join PWN Dublin and for ESB to come onboard as a Corporate Partner? 

To start with, my involvement with PWN Dublin was at a personal level. I believe in the need to advance gender-balanced leadership, and the importance and impact of extending our networks. ESB is committed to building an increasingly diverse workforce, in a strong, value-based, inclusive culture. I understood early on that to push the DEI agenda, it needed more than the DEI lead pushing the internal messaging. We had to create a workplace environment where everyone was talking about it, and where people at a grass-roots level benefit from the changes we make. 

Having a broad range of learning from working with many other associations, I knew what I was looking for. My nature is such that before I recommend anything, I like to check it out for myself to ensure there is a good fit. I worked with Fiona Flynn and Carina Furlong (the then Co-Presidents of PWN Dublin), and together we built a solid relationship and trust that was very much based on honest conversations. 

Once I was sure that PWN Dublin was the right fit for ESB, I started to socialise and build on the partnership. Having a deep understanding of our business, and the challenges, enabled me to reach out to individuals to attend respective events that PWN Dublin offers. 

There really is something for everyone in terms of learning opportunities – role modelling, visibility of role models, sharing and learning from other organisations. 

There are two areas PWN Dublin has provided that have been extremely valuable: 

  • PWN Dublin Diversity Labs: opportunities for powerful conversations with other member organisations –  sharing and learning cross industries/organisations. To make real progress this collaborative, cross-industry approach to working is vital. 
  • Our partnership with PWN Dublin helps us to bridge and address the gaps that are identified in our Gender Pay Gap Report. 

What do you value about PWN Dublin on a personal level?

PWN Dublin has been a safe, open and welcoming space for me to learn and grow in my career. Some important highlights that I value on a personal level are:

  • Being able to build my own network outside of the industry I work in. This exposure to such strong, capable leaders, further strengthens my network.  I am also there to support the people in my network. 
  • I highly recommend attending PWN Dublin Networking events – they are a series of powerful  ‘micro-mentoring and learning moments’.  People come to them ready to share, learn and connect in a safe space.  In turn, this has built trust across varied and diverse groups.
  • My confidence has soared since joining PWN Dublin - the opportunities to speak on panels and at diversity labs create real moments of growth. I was particularly thrilled when ESB won a PWN Global Diversity Award at the inaugural awards ceremony held in Dublin in 2019.
  • I was recently awarded a highly commended Diversity & Inclusion Champion CIPD award. I believe that my work with PWN Dublin and other strategic partnerships has helped me achieve this award. 
  • I really valued the opportunity to be a mentee in the PWN Dublin Group Mentoring programme.  It was very different to being a mentee in an in-house mentoring programme – allowing a much more honest approach in the sessions. 
  • Being a mentor (for two years running) has been a very positive experience for me.  Having benefitted as a mentee, it has been a great opportunity for me to give back to PWN Dublin. Being a mentor on the Group Mentoring Programme requires a significant amount of effort, but it is a very rewarding initiative to be involved in. 

What are the benefits of collaborating with PWN Dublin at an organisational level? 

  • In our 2023 Gender Pay Gap Report, we remark “We know that increasing diversity will need inclusive leaders who are advocates for gender equity”.  – PWN Dublin is a key strategic partner that enables us to achieve that. 
  • PWN Dublin offers additional complimentary programmes, to the programmes we already offer at ESB to help us attract, retain and progress our female talent throughout their careers, and when they return to work after a break. 
  • PWN Dublin membership is listed on our DEI site and we encourage employees to avail of  PWN Dublin’s learning events and networking sessions to support their career journeys.
  • Whether attending events or hosting events, ESB benefits from visibility around its engagement with PWN Dublin, to attract diverse talent and our commitment to advancing gender-balanced leadership in our business. 


What are some of the key initiatives that you have undertaken to maximise the impact of your relationship with PWN Dublin:

  • Referencing our partnership with PWN Dublin as proof of our commitment to our ESG goals, our Gender Gap Reporting process, DEI Induction and Business Unit briefings
  • Involving our employees in PWN Dublin’s Group Mentoring Programme 
  • Hosting events and being part of the diversity labs has been very impactful for ESB – great opportunity to showcase what we as an organisation are doing, 
  • Applying for and winning a PWN Global Gender Balanced Leadership Award – this gave ESB a lot of great visibility both internally and externally
  • Creation of a repository of all useful PWN Dublin resources on the ESB Sharepoint 
  • Using Viva to push PWN Dublin Events or Programmes content to build engagement

There is one additional thing that we would like to do more of, and that is increasing the awareness of the activities that ESB is collaborating on with PWN Dublin. We believe that there are so many great stories that we can share, to encourage more of our colleagues, in particular male allies, to get involved. 


There is one additional think that we would like to do more of, and that is increasing the awareness of the activities that ESB is collaborating on with PWN Dublin. We believe that there are so many great stories that we can tell, to encourage more of our colleagues to get involved and benefit. 


Published: November 2024
Author: Rebecca Fountain, PWN Dublin