Celebrating International Women’s Day – Meet Kira O’Dowd

To celebrate “International Women’s Day”, we’re meeting some of the wonderful women that work here at C&L. Today we meet Kira!

Name: Kira O’Dowd
Job Title: Assistant Depot Manager
Length of Service: 3 years 8 months

What does your role involve?

I am new to this role but my main duties to support Matt with running our branch are overseeing sales and customer service, organising transport/operations and providing direction to yard staff. I am involved in colleague, customer and supplier meetings. I attend site visits. I will also be assisting with general health and safety tasks.

How do you feel being one of the few women in your workplace?

I am proud to be one of the few women in our workplace however, it was challenging to begin with because I was the only female yard operative. I am comfortable now and feel that I have proven myself.

What interest you in your role?

I’m interested in this role because it aligns with my skills and aspirations. All aspects of my job interest me, particularly building relationships with customers/suppliers and the operational side.

How did you get to your position? Any advice to others?

I started as a yard FLT operative then became the yard supervisor. I’ve always been keen to progress and learn the full process hence transferring into the office to help with sales and order processing. From there I have been promoted to Assistant Branch Manager as a testament to my hard work and reputation with customers and suppliers particularly.

I would advise others to work hard, give everything a go and above all believe in themselves!

What do you like about working for C&L?

I like the fact that every day is different and how much my confidence has grown during my time here. I also like the fact that there are opportunities to progress.

How do you feel working in a male dominated environment?

I am comfortable now but I did struggle to begin with. I feel it is beneficial to have a diverse team especially in industries that are dominated by one gender because we introduce new perspectives and offer new solutions that might have been overlooked otherwise.

Do you think being a woman in this industry has affected your opportunities for career development?

Although it hasn’t affected my opportunities, it definitely could have. I think I have had to work harder than my male colleagues in some instances in order to be recognised. Working in the yard was frowned upon by some when I started but I continued because I wanted to prove I could do it and always considered the bigger picture which for me is progression. I have worked hard to get to where I am and will continue to do so.