Celebrating International Women’s Day 2024 and partnership with Riley

To celebrate IWD 2024, Tirlán has partnered with Riley, a sustainable period product subscription service, to provide free period products to employees.

Tirlán, Ireland’s leading 100% farmer-owned food and nutrition business, has today announced its partnership with Riley. Riley’s sustainable period products are from today available to employees at their Irish sites, and to employees located in their 11 production facilities and 52 retail branches. Tirlán is committed to creating a better and more inclusive working environment across all sites. 

Speaking at the partnership announcement in Abbey Quarter, Tirlán Chief People Officer Michael O’Leary said; “Tirlán is committed to creating an inclusive workplace for all our people. We strongly believe in providing an environment where everyone feels valued, respected, and supported. We recognise and want to ensure that accessing period care products is never a source of stress or inconvenience for any member of our team.”

Riley is a sustainable business set up during the pandemic, spearheaded by three female entrepreneurs, Aine Kilkenny, Fiona Parfrey and Lauren Duggan, based in West Cork.

Riley was chosen by Tirlán as a solution partner-of-choice because of their sustainability commitments and their eco-friendly products. All Riley products are made from 100% certified organic cotton and are certified with the Global Organic Textile Standard (GOTS). In addition to this Riley contribute 1% of online sales to tackle period poverty, not only domestically, but in countries such as Kenya where the subject of periods and period care is often taboo. 

International Women's Day is a global day celebrating the social, economic, cultural, and political achievements of women. The day also marks a call to action for accelerating women's equality. Tirlán celebrated with a jam-packed schedule to educate their people to create a more inclusive workplace for all employees on the week leading up to International Women's Day, including events, announcements, educational opportunities and information supports whilst highlighting this year's theme: "Inspire Inclusion".

Tirlán is also celebrating the invaluable contributions of women in agriculture and the vital role of female farmers in Irish society and the economy. 

Ailish Byrne, Director of Agribusiness is a guest speaker at the joint Macra na Feirme and ASA (Agriculture Science Association) International Women’s Day event ‘Resilient Industry: Adapting to Change’ on 7th March. On the same day in Kilkenny, Dr. Lisa Koep, Chief ESG Officer joined the Carlow Kilkenny Skillnet and PWC Ireland for their International Women’s Day event ‘Profit and Purpose, Women Leading the Way’. Anna Daly, Member Relations Manager joined the National Dairy Council (NDC) for their podcast discussion on women in agriculture and farming, in particular women under 30 who are making strides in what is a traditionally male dominated sector. 

Recognising the need for a more diverse representative structure, Tirlán has taken concrete steps to promote gender balance within its representative structure. Shareholders overwhelmingly voted to introduce designated seats on all 11 regional committees and an additional seat per region on the Council, initially reserved for female candidates. This move aligns with national farm ownership statistics, reflecting 13% female ownership.