Financial confidence
for women who are
Practical group sessions covering payslips, pension auto-enrolment, salary negotiation and household finance — for women returning to work after caregiving, parenting or health-related career breaks. No investment advice. No jargon. Peer support built in.
You've been managing a budget more complex than most office spreadsheets.
Running a household on one income — juggling childcare costs, medical bills, utility changes, grocery inflation, and everything else — takes real financial skill. The problem isn't that you lack knowledge. It's that nobody has translated workplace finance into language that connects with what you already know.
That's what these workshops do.
Six topics. One programme. Practical throughout.
Each session in the programme covers one area of workplace finance. Sessions build on each other and are designed for small groups so there's room for questions and conversation.
Your payslip contains a lot of information that most people don't fully understand — including people who've never had a career break. We go through each line: gross pay, PAYE, USC, PRSI, pension deductions, BIK, and net pay. You'll leave knowing exactly where your money goes and whether the figures look right. We also cover what to do if something seems wrong and who to speak to.
Ireland's pension auto-enrolment scheme is being introduced for employees who don't currently have a workplace pension. We explain how it works, what contributions are involved (yours, your employer's, and the State's), how opting out works, and what it means for your long-term position. We also cover what happens to pension gaps from your career break period and what questions are worth asking your HR department.
Health insurance, income protection, life cover, bike-to-work schemes, annual leave, remote working policies, parental leave — benefits packages vary widely and can significantly affect the real value of a job offer. We cover how to compare packages between employers, which benefits are most valuable depending on your circumstances, and how to ask about benefits without it feeling awkward during the hiring process.
Negotiating salary is uncomfortable for most people. When you have a gap on your CV, it can feel even harder — like you're in a weaker position before the conversation starts. This session covers how to research salary ranges, how to frame your career break honestly and without apology, how to respond to salary questions during interviews, and practical language for the negotiation itself. The group format means you can practise in a low-stakes environment.
Moving from one income to two changes your household financial picture in ways that aren't always straightforward — tax credits, childcare costs, commuting costs, and the question of which expenses change and which don't. We cover how to map the transition, what to review with your partner or independently, and how to make sense of your new combined tax position. This session is practical and uses real-world examples rather than abstract scenarios.
Many women returning to work describe feeling out of their depth in conversations about money — even when they've been managing complex household finances for years. This session addresses the gap between what you know and how you feel about what you know. We look at workplace financial conversations, how to ask questions without feeling exposed, and how to build confidence in participating in financial discussions at work over time.
Group programmes, not one-to-one advice
Small Groups
Sessions run in small groups so there's space for questions and conversation. You're not in a lecture theatre — you're in a room with other women in similar situations.
Facilitated Sessions
Each session is facilitated, not lectured. The aim is to help you understand the material, not to tell you what to do with it. Individual financial advice is not provided.
Peer Support
The group format means you're learning alongside other women navigating the same transition. That shared experience is part of what makes these sessions useful.
Practical Materials
Each session comes with reference materials you can take away and use — guides, checklists, and worked examples relevant to the Irish context.
Returning after a career break
These workshops are designed specifically for women who have taken time away from paid employment — whether for childcare, caring for a family member, or managing their own health — and are now returning or preparing to return to the workforce.
You don't need any particular financial background. The sessions start from the assumption that you're intelligent and capable, and that the gap is one of context, not ability.
- Returning after parental leave or full-time parenting
- Returning after caring for a parent or partner
- Returning after a health-related break
- Preparing to return and wanting to feel ready
Practical guides to get you started
Our practical guides section covers some of the topics from the workshops in written form — useful whether you're considering the programme or just looking for clear information.
Understanding Your Payslip
A plain-language walkthrough of what each line on an Irish payslip means.
Read guidePension Auto-Enrolment Explained
What Ireland's new pension auto-enrolment scheme means for employees returning to work.
Read guideSalary Negotiation After a Career Break
How to approach salary conversations when you have a gap on your CV.
Read guide