Clare O Connor

Championing females in STEM & non-traditional roles | Pioneering Marine Engineering Officer | TEDx Speaker | Coach Mentor Trainer

Clare spent ten years travelling the world as a Marine Engineering Officer in the Merchant Navy, and for nine months of one year, did not see another woman or a child, she did not have another female colleague for a period of 18 months and in Irish history, only a handful of women had achieved the same qualification by the time she sat her Chief Engineers exams.

This is Clare’s passionate and inspirational story of how she navigated these waters, reconstructing conventional stereotypes and changing perceptions.

Progressing through the ranks at sea, living and working in some of the world’s most challenging environments, Clare learned from experience how to live and lead the change she wants to see in others.

Growing through adversity and overcoming many obstacles such as loneliness, inherent bias, and her own perfectionism, Clare developed resilience, determination and self-efficacy. She learned how to challenge the status quo and how important it is to be part of a team and champion others. In her life ashore, Clare continued to smash gender barriers as she became the first woman to take an engineering position in not one, but two Irish companies.

Clare again broke the mould when she founded Invictess, the only organisation in Ireland solely dedicated to working with and advocating for females challenging stereotypes in STEM and non-traditional roles.

Invictess strives to build stronger foundations for female leadership and talent pools globally; to engage, attract and retain female talent through equitable opportunity in our organisations. Clare is uniquely positioned to do this as she has lived the experience. #EmbraceEquity

This experience of 15 years working in an almost all-male environment, and her ability to share her personal experience & learnings with humour & candour, makes her a Powerhouse in women's leadership.

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