Some of Ireland’s most established businesswomen offered insights into how they achieved their professional goals at a special event in Dublin this morning.

Anne O’Leary, Lucy Gaffney and Natasha Fennell joined IMAGE editor-in-chief Melanie Morris for a morning of inspiration and humour at the magazine's Networking Breakfast at the Marker Hotel in Grand Canal Dock.

The theme for this month's event was: "A Woman's World? The challenges and rewards facing women in business" and the key speakers had plenty to say on the matter:

“It is important to be ambitious and competitive and always do your job to the best of your ability. This means being curious and open to learning new things and sometimes taking risks. I have a healthy paranoia about business, both in the telecoms industry and elsewhere. Being mentally and physically strong is also vital when you are working in a challenging and fast-paced business environment. Overall, have self-belief and determination.” Anne O’Leary, CEO of Vodafone.

“How do you synopsise 35 years of working with many people, in many organisations, in many countries, through many technology advances and two recessions? I asked myself – what was constant throughout those years? Bloody hard work, a bit of luck, a supportive partner, fabulous mentors and colleagues, and a refusal to accept that any problem cannot be solved.” Lucy Gaffney, Chairperson, Communicorp.

“There’s a lot of evidence that shows that unconscious biases influence key decisions in the workplace and are therefore responsible for some of the enduring inequalities that many of us experience at work today. This is particularly relevant when it comes to women. And so even if we fix the infrastructure that would enable women to fully pursue their careers, how do we eliminate the invisible barrier that is the unconscious bias?” Natasha Fennell Author and director at Stillwater Communications