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  • Gender mainstreaming
    • What is Gender mainstreaming
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    • Toolkits
      • Gender Equality Training
        • Back to toolkit page
        • What is Gender Equality Training
        • Why invest in Gender Equality Training
        • Who should use Gender Equality Training
        • Step-by-step guide to Gender Equality Training
            • 1. Assess the needs
            • 2. Integrate initiatives to broader strategy
            • 3. Ensure sufficient resources
            • 4. Write good terms of reference
            • 5. Select a trainer
            • 6. Engage in the needs assessment
            • 7. Actively participate in the initiative
            • 8. Invite others to join in
            • 9. Monitoring framework and procedures
            • 10. Set up an evaluation framework
            • 11. Assess long-term impacts
            • 12. Give space and support others
        • Designing effective Gender Equality Training
        • Gender Equality Training in the EU
        • Good Practices on Gender Equality Training
        • More resources on Gender Equality Training
        • More on EIGE's work on Gender Equality Training
      • Gender Impact Assessment
        • Back to toolkit page
        • What is Gender Impact Assessment
        • Why use Gender Impact Assessment
        • Who should use Gender Impact Assessment
        • When to use Gender Impact Assessment
        • Guide to Gender Impact Assessment
          • Step 1: Definition of policy purpose
          • Step 2: Checking gender relevance
          • Step 3: Gender-sensitive analysis
          • Step 4: Weighing gender impact
          • Step 5: Findings and proposals for improvement
        • Following up on gender impact assessment
        • General considerations
        • Examples from the EU
            • European Commission
            • Austria
            • Belgium
            • Denmark
            • Finland
            • Sweden
            • Basque country
            • Catalonia
            • Lower Saxony
            • Swedish municipalities
      • Institutional Transformation
        • Back to toolkit page
        • What is Institutional Transformation
          • Institutional transformation and gender: Key points
          • Gender organisations
          • Types of institutions
          • Gender mainstreaming and institutional transformation
          • Dimensions of gender mainstreaming in institutions: The SPO model
        • Why focus on Institutional Transformation
          • Motivation model
        • Who the guide is for
        • Guide to Institutional Transformation
            • 1. Creating accountability and strengthening commitment
            • 2. Allocating resources
            • 3. Conducting an organisational analysis
            • 4. Developing a strategy and work plan
            • 5. Establishing a support structure
            • 6. Setting gender equality objectives
            • 7. Communicating gender mainstreaming
            • 8. Introducing gender mainstreaming
            • 9. Developing gender equality competence
            • 10. Establishing a gender information management system
            • 11. Launching gender equality action plans
            • 12. Promotional equal opportunities
            • 13. Monitoring and steering organisational change
        • Dealing with resistance
          • Discourse level
          • Individual level
          • Organisational level
          • Statements and reactions
        • Checklist: Key questions for change
        • Examples from the EU
            • 1. Strengthening accountability
            • 2. Allocating resources
            • 3. Organisational analysis
            • 4. Developing a strategy and working plan
            • 5. Establishing a support structure
            • 6. Setting objectives
            • 7. Communicating gender mainstreaming
            • 8. Introducing methods and tools
            • 9. Developing Competence
            • 10. Establishing a gender information management system
            • 11. Launching action plans
            • 12. Promoting within an organisation
            • 13. Monitoring and evaluating
      • Gender Equality in Academia and Research
        • Back to toolkit page
        • WHAT
          • What is a Gender Equality Plan?
          • Terms and definitions
          • Which stakeholders need to be engaged into a GEP
          • About the Gear Tool
        • WHY
          • Horizon Europe GEP criterion
          • Gender Equality in Research and Innovation
          • Why change must be structural
          • Rationale for gender equality change in research and innovation
          • GEAR step-by-step guide for research organisations, universities and public bodies
            • Step 1: Getting started
            • Step 2: Analysing and assessing the state-of-play in the institution
            • Step 3: Setting up a Gender Equality Plan
            • Step 4: Implementing a Gender Equality Plan
            • Step 5: Monitoring progress and evaluating a Gender Equality Plan
            • Step 6: What comes after the Gender Equality Plan?
          • GEAR step-by-step guide for research funding bodies
            • Step 1: Getting started
            • Step 2: Analysing and assessing the state-of-play in the institution
            • Step 3: Setting up a Gender Equality Plan
            • Step 4: Implementing a Gender Equality Plan
            • Step 5: Monitoring progress and evaluating a Gender Equality Plan
            • Step 6: What comes after the Gender Equality Plan?
          • GEAR action toolbox
            • Work-life balance and organisational culture
            • Gender balance in leadership and decision making
            • Gender equality in recruitment and career progression
            • Integration of the sex/gender dimension into research and teaching content
            • Measures against gender-based violence including sexual harassment
            • Measures mitigating the effect of COVID-19
            • Data collection and monitoring
            • Training: awareness-raising and capacity building
            • GEP development and implementation
            • Gender-sensitive research funding procedures
          • Success factors for GEP development and implementation
          • Challenges & resistance
        • WHERE
          • Austria
          • Belgium
          • Bulgaria
          • Croatia
          • Cyprus
          • Czechia
          • Denmark
          • Estonia
          • Finland
          • France
          • Germany
          • Greece
          • Hungary
          • Ireland
          • Italy
          • Latvia
          • Lithuania
          • Luxembourg
          • Malta
          • Netherlands
          • Poland
          • Portugal
          • Romania
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          • Slovenia
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      • Gender-sensitive Parliaments
        • Back to toolkit page
        • What is the tool for?
        • Who is the tool for?
        • How to use the tool
        • Self-assessment, scoring and interpretation of parliament gender-sensitivity
          • AREA 1 – Women and men have equal opportunities to ENTER the parliament
            • Domain 1 – Electoral system and gender quotas
            • Domain 2 - Political party/group procedures
            • Domain 3 – Recruitment of parliamentary employees
          • AREA 2 – Women and men have equal opportunities to INFLUENCE the parliament’s working procedures
            • Domain 1 – Parliamentarians’ presence and capacity in a parliament
            • Domain 2 – Structure and organisation
            • Domain 3 – Staff organisation and procedures
          • AREA 3 – Women’s interests and concerns have adequate SPACE on parliamentary agenda
            • Domain 1 – Gender mainstreaming structures
            • Domain 2 – Gender mainstreaming tools in parliamentary work
            • Domain 3 – Gender mainstreaming tools for staff
          • AREA 4 – The parliament produces gender-sensitive LEGISLATION
            • Domain 1 – Gender equality laws and policies
            • Domain 2 – Gender mainstreaming in laws
            • Domain 3 – Oversight of gender equality
          • AREA 5 – The parliament complies with its SYMBOLIC function
            • Domain 1 – Symbolic meanings of spaces
            • Domain 2 – Gender equality in external communication and representation
        • How gender-sensitive are parliaments in the EU?
        • Examples of gender-sensitive practices in parliaments
          • Women and men have equal opportunities to ENTER the parliament
          • Women and men have equal opportunities to INFLUENCE the parliament’s working procedures
          • Women’s interests and concerns have adequate SPACE on parliamentary agenda
          • The parliament produces gender-sensitive LEGISLATION
          • The parliament complies with its SYMBOLIC function
        • Glossary of terms
        • References and resources
      • Gender Budgeting
        • Back to toolkit page
        • Who is this toolkit for?
        • What is gender budgeting?
          • Introducing gender budgeting
          • Gender budgeting in women’s and men’s lived realities
          • What does gender budgeting involve in practice?
          • Gender budgeting in the EU Funds
            • Gender budgeting as a way of complying with EU legal requirements
            • Gender budgeting as a way of promoting accountability and transparency
            • Gender budgeting as a way of increasing participation in budget processes
            • Gender budgeting as a way of advancing gender equality
        • Why is gender budgeting important in the EU Funds?
          • Three reasons why gender budgeting is crucial in the EU Funds
        • How can we apply gender budgeting in the EU Funds? Practical tools and Member State examples
          • Tool 1: Connecting the EU Funds with the EU’s regulatory framework on gender equality
            • Legislative and regulatory basis for EU policies on gender equality
            • Concrete requirements for considering gender equality within the EU Funds
            • EU Funds’ enabling conditions
            • Additional resources
          • Tool 2: Analysing gender inequalities and gender needs at the national and sub-national levels
            • Steps to assess and analyse gender inequalities and needs
            • Step 1. Collect information and disaggregated data on the target group
            • Step 2. Identify existing gender inequalities and their underlying causes
            • Step 3. Consult directly with the target groups
            • Step 4. Draw conclusions
            • Additional resources
          • Tool 3: Operationalising gender equality in policy objectives and specific objectives/measures
            • Steps for operationalising gender equality in Partnership Agreements and Operational Programmes
            • General guidance on operationalising gender equality when developing policy objectives, specific objectives and measures
            • Checklist for putting the horizontal principle of gender equality into practice in Partnership Agreements
            • Checklist for putting the horizontal principle of gender equality into practice in Operational Programmes
            • Examples of integrating gender equality as a horizontal principle in policy objectives and specific objectives
          • Tool 4: Coordination and complementarities between the EU Funds to advance work-life balance
            • Steps for enhancing coordination and complementarities between the funds
            • Step 1. Alignment with the EU’s strategic engagement goals for gender equality and national gender equality goals
            • Steps 2 and 3. Identifying and developing possible work-life balance interventions
            • Step 4. Following-up through the use of indicators within M&E systems
            • Fictional case study 1: reconciling paid work and childcare
            • Fictional case study 2: reconciling shift work and childcare
            • Fictional case study 3: balancing care for oneself and others
            • Fictional case study 4: reconciling care for children and older persons with shift work
            • Additional resources
          • Tool 5: Defining partnerships and multi-level governance
            • Steps for defining partnerships and multi-level governance
            • Additional resources
          • Tool 6: Developing quantitative and qualitative indicators for advancing gender equality
            • Steps to develop quantitative and qualitative indicators
            • ERDF and Cohesion Fund
            • ESF+
            • EMFF
            • Additional resources
          • Tool 7: Defining gender-sensitive project selection criteria
            • Steps to support gender-sensitive project development and selection
            • Checklist to guide the preparation of calls for project proposals
            • Checklist for project selection criteria
            • Supplementary tool 7.a: Gender-responsive agreements with project implementers
          • Tool 8: Tracking resource allocations for gender equality in the EU Funds
            • Ensuring gender relevance in EU Funds
            • The tracking system
            • Steps for tracking resource allocations on gender equality
            • Step 1: Ex ante approach
            • Step 2: Ex post approach
            • Examples of Step 2a
            • Annex 1: Ex ante assignment of intervention fields to the gender equality dimension codes
            • Annex 2: The EU’s gender equality legal and policy framework
          • Tool 9: Mainstreaming gender equality in project design
            • Steps to mainstream gender equality in project design
            • Step 1. Alignment with partnership agreements’ and Operational Programmes’ gender objectives and indicators
            • Step 2. Project development and application
            • Step 3. Project implementation
            • Step 4. Project assessment
          • Tool 10: Integrating a gender perspective in monitoring and evaluation processes
            • Steps to integrate a gender perspective in M&E processes
            • Additional resources
          • Tool 11: Reporting on resource spending for gender equality in the EU Funds
            • Tracking expenditures for gender equality
            • Additional resources
          • References
          • Abbreviations
          • Acknowledgements
      • Gender-responsive Public Procurement
        • Back to toolkit page
        • Who is this toolkit for?
          • Guiding you through the toolkit
        • What is gender-responsive public procurement?
          • How is gender-responsive public procurement linked to gender equality?
          • How is gender-responsive public procurement linked to gender budgeting?
          • Five reasons why gender-responsive public procurement
          • Why was this toolkit produced
        • Gender-responsive public procurement in practice
          • Legal framework cross-references gender equality and public procurement
          • Public procurement strategies cover GRPP
          • Gender equality action plans or strategies mention public procurement
          • Capacity-building programmes, support structures
          • Regular collaboration between gender equality bodies
          • Effective monitoring and reporting systems on the use of GRPP
          • Tool 1:Self-assessment questionnaire about the legal
          • Tool 2: Overview of the legislative, regulatory and policy frameworks
        • How to include gender aspects in tendering procedures
          • Pre-procurement stage
            • Needs assessment
            • Tool 3: Decision tree to assess the gender relevance
            • Preliminary market consultation
            • Tool 4: Guiding questions for needs assessment
            • Defining the subject matter of the contract
            • Choosing the procedure
            • Tool 5: Decision tree for the choice of procedure for GRPP
            • Dividing the contract into lots
            • Tool 6: Guiding questions for dividing contracts into lots for GRPP
            • Light regime for social, health and other specific services
            • Tool 7: Guiding questions for applying GRPP under the light regime
            • Tool 8: Guiding questions for applying GRPP under the light regime
            • Reserved contracts
            • Preparing tender documents
          • Procurement stage
            • Exclusion grounds
            • Selection criteria
            • Technical specifications
            • Tool 9: Decision tree for setting GRPP selection criteria
            • Award criteria
            • Tool 10: Formulating GRPP award criteria
            • Tool 11: Bidders’ concepts to ensure the integration of gender aspects
            • Use of labels/certifications
          • Post-procurement stage
            • Tool 12: Checklist for including GRPP contract performance conditions
            • Subcontracting
            • Monitoring
            • Reporting
            • Tool 13: Template for a GRPP monitoring and reporting plan
        • References
        • Additional resources
    • Methods and tools
      • Browse
      • About EIGE's methods and tools
      • Gender analysis
      • Gender audit
      • Gender awareness-raising
      • Gender budgeting
      • Gender impact assessment
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      • Examples of methods and tools
      • Resources
    • Good practices
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      • Belgium
        • Overview
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    • EIGE’s publications on Gender mainstreaming
    • Concepts and definitions
    • Power Up conference 2019
  • Gender-based violence
    • What is gender-based violence?
    • Forms of violence
    • EIGE’s work on gender-based violence
    • Administrative data collection
      • Data collection on violence against women
        • The need to improve data collection
        • Advancing administrative data collection on Intimate partner violence and gender-related killings of women
        • Improving police and justice data on intimate partner violence against women in the European Union
        • Developing EU-wide terminology and indicators for data collection on violence against women
        • Mapping the current status and potential of administrative data sources on gender-based violence in the EU
      • About the tool
      • Administrative data sources
      • Advanced search
    • Analysis of EU directives from a gendered perspective
    • Costs of gender-based violence
    • Cyber violence against women
    • Femicide
    • Intimate partner violence and witness intervention
    • Female genital mutilation
      • Risk estimations
    • Risk assessment and risk management by police
      • Risk assessment principles and steps
          • Principle 1: Prioritising victim safety
          • Principle 2: Adopting a victim-centred approach
          • Principle 3: Taking a gender-specific approach
          • Principle 4: Adopting an intersectional approach
          • Principle 5: Considering children’s experiences
          • Step 1: Define the purpose and objectives of police risk assessment
          • Step 2: Identify the most appropriate approach to police risk assessment
          • Step 3: Identify the most relevant risk factors for police risk assessment
          • Step 4: Implement systematic police training and capacity development
          • Step 5: Embed police risk assessment in a multiagency framework
          • Step 6: Develop procedures for information management and confidentiality
          • Step 7: Monitor and evaluate risk assessment practices and outcomes
      • Risk management principles and recommendations
        • Principle 1. Adopting a gender-specific approach
        • Principle 2. Introducing an individualised approach to risk management
        • Principle 3. Establishing an evidence-based approach
        • Principle 4. Underpinning the processes with an outcome-focused approach
        • Principle 5. Delivering a coordinated, multiagency response
      • Legal and policy framework
      • Tools and approaches
      • Areas for improvement
      • References
    • Good practices in EU Member States
    • Methods and tools in EU Member States
    • White Ribbon Campaign
      • About the White Ribbon Campaign
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    • Regulatory and legal framework
      • International regulations
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          • Avoid gendered pronouns (he or she) when the person’s gender is unknown
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      • Back to toolkit page
      • EU policies on work-life balance
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      • The argument for work-life balance measures
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      • Step-by-step approach to building a compelling business case
        • Step 1: Identify national work-life balance initiatives and partners
        • Step 2: Identify potential resistance and find solutions
        • Step 3: Maximise buy-in from stakeholders
        • Step 4: Design a solid implementation plan
        • Step 5: Carefully measure progress
        • Step 6: Highlight benefits and celebrate early wins
      • Toolbox for planning work-life balance measures in ICT companies
      • Work–life balance checklist
    • Gender Equality Index 2019. Work-life balance
      • Back to toolkit page
      • Foreword
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      • Introduction
        • Still far from the finish line
        • Snail’s-pace progress on gender equality in the EU continues
        • More women in decision-making drives progress
        • Convergence on gender equality in the EU
      • 2. Domain of work
        • Gender equality inching slowly forward in a fast-changing world of work
        • Women dominate part-time employment, consigning them to jobs with poorer career progression
        • Motherhood, low education and migration are particular barriers to work for women
      • 3. Domain of money
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      • 4. Domain of knowledge
        • Gender equality in education standing still even as women graduates outnumber men graduates
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      • 5. Domain of time
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      • 6. Domain of power
        • More women in decision-making but still a long way to go
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        • Limited opportunities for women to influence social and cultural decision-making
      • 7. Domain of health
        • Behavioural change in health is key to tackling gender inequalities
        • Women live longer but in poorer health
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      • Part 2. Test yourself
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        • Eradicating sexism to change the face of the EU
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Gender Equality in Academia and Research

PrintDownload as PDF
  • Back to toolkit page
  • WHAT
    • What is a Gender Equality Plan?
    • Terms and definitions
    • Which stakeholders need to be engaged into a GEP
    • About the Gear Tool
  • WHY
    • Horizon Europe GEP criterion
    • Gender Equality in Research and Innovation
    • Why change must be structural
    • Rationale for gender equality change in research and innovation
  • HOW
    • GEAR step-by-step guide for research organisations, universities and public bodies
      • Step 1: Getting started
      • Step 2: Analysing and assessing the state-of-play in the institution
      • Step 3: Setting up a Gender Equality Plan
      • Step 4: Implementing a Gender Equality Plan
      • Step 5: Monitoring progress and evaluating a Gender Equality Plan
      • Step 6: What comes after the Gender Equality Plan?
    • GEAR step-by-step guide for research funding bodies
      • Step 1: Getting started
      • Step 2: Analysing and assessing the state-of-play in the institution
      • Step 3: Setting up a Gender Equality Plan
      • Step 4: Implementing a Gender Equality Plan
      • Step 5: Monitoring progress and evaluating a Gender Equality Plan
      • Step 6: What comes after the Gender Equality Plan?
    • GEAR action toolbox
      • Work-life balance and organisational culture
      • Gender balance in leadership and decision making
      • Gender equality in recruitment and career progression
      • Integration of the sex/gender dimension into research and teaching content
      • Measures against gender-based violence including sexual harassment
      • Measures mitigating the effect of COVID-19
      • Data collection and monitoring
      • Training: awareness-raising and capacity building
      • GEP development and implementation
      • Gender-sensitive research funding procedures
    • Success factors for GEP development and implementation
    • Challenges & resistance
  • WHERE
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  • Gender Equality in Academia and Research
  • WHERE

Ireland

Country: 
Ireland

PROMOTING GENDER EQUALITY IN RESEARCH

Legal framework

The relevant legislative acts promoting gender equality in Irish Higher Education and Research include:

  • Employment Equality Acts 1998 to 2015, which prohibit discrimination in a wide range of employment and employment-related areas including recruitment and promotion, equal pay, working conditions, training or experience, dismissal and harassment including sexual harassment and victimisation)[1];
  • Equal Status Acts 2000-2015, which prohibit discrimination on nine grounds including gender. In education, these apply to students/staff attending Irish higher education institutions (HEIs)[2];
  • Institutes of Technology Act 2006[3] and the University Act 1997[4], which require HEIs to develop and implement equality policies, including gender equality;,
  • Technological Universities Act 2018, which allows Institutes of Technology to apply for University Status, part of which requires incorporating gender equality in all policy documents[5];
  • Section 42 of the Irish Human Rights Equality Commission Act 2015, which requires public bodies (including HEIs) to integrate human rights and equality assessment into their strategic planning process and outcomes[6];
  • Higher Education Authority (HEA) Act 1971, which gives the HEA the legislative responsibility to promote equality in HEIs)[7];
  • Higher Education Authority Bill 2021 (under pre-legislative scrutiny and due to be enacted later in 2021), which requires greater accountability and visibility from Irish HEIs, including in the area of equality, diversity and inclusion.

Policy framework

The HEA’s National Review of Gender Equality in Irish Higher Education Institutes (2016) created a solid starting point for analysing the slow progress of achieving gender equality in higher education. HEIs were charged with examining their own content and culture and reviewing their own disaggregated data on gender at all levels across all disciplines within their institution. Endorsement of the Athena SWAN Charter was cited as a useful tool in this process[8].

Following the 2016 HEA review, the “National Gender Action Plan 2018-2020: Accelerating Gender Equality in Irish Higher Education Institutions”[9] was developed in 2017 by the newly created Gender Equality Taskforce. The HEA created a Centre of Excellence for Gender Equality and requested all HEIs to create and publish a gender action plan. HEIs are to report their progress annually to the HEA. All HEIs were required to obtain the Athena SWAN Bronze Award by 2019. The Task Force promoted equality on the nine grounds on which discrimination is unlawful in Ireland and made intersectional recommendations.

The “National Strategy for Women and Girls 2017-2020: Creating a better society for all”[10] takes an intersectional approach to equality by creating a framework for action to address obstacles and barriers to women’s equality in Ireland. It is an all-government national strategy to gender-proof new and existing policies for gender equality. It specifically highlights the Department of Education and Skills’ commitment to the development of a science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) Education Policy that address the negative stereotypes surrounding women’s participation and careers in STEM.

The STEM Education Policy Statement 2017-202[11]  was developed by the Department of Education and Skills as a roadmap to develop STEM education in Ireland. It emphasises increasing women’s participation at all education levels. Robust and sustainable partnerships between schools, the higher education sector (including research organisations), research funding organisations, and the Department of Education and Skills have raised awareness and created incentives for STEM in Irish education.

The “National Framework for Consent in Higher Education Institutions: Safe, Respectful, Supportive and Positive – Ending Sexual Violence and Harassment in Third-Level Education 2019” seeks to foster a campus culture that clearly and unequivocally condemns unwanted and unacceptable behaviours. Three current initiatives have been significant in informing the recommendations and supporting framework: (1) ESHTE, led by the National Women’s Council[12]; (2) SMART Consent programme run by the National University of Ireland, Galway (NUIG[13]; and (3) the Bystander Intervention programme in University College Cork (UCC)[14]. The HEA is responsible for funding and implementing the framework[15].

Other stimulatory initiatives

Ireland has three main research funding organisations – the Irish Research Council (IRC), Science Foundation Ireland (SFI), and the Health Research Board (HRB), with a combined annual budget for research of approx. EUR 230 million. In 2017, they announced that all Irish HEIs or research funding organisations were required to achieve the Athena SWAN Bronze Award by the end of 2019, and the Silver Award by end-2023 as a condition of future research funding. Linking research funding to advancing gender equality in Irish HEIs drives forward national gender equality goals[16].

The IRC’s Gender Strategy and Action Plan 2013-2020 requires all funding applicants to demonstrate that they have given full consideration to any potential sex and/or gender dimension in their research proposals. The consideration of sex and/or gender is included in the criteria for assessment and all evaluators are given briefing material on how best to assess applications. Training is also provided for applicants and HEI staff on how to consider sex/gender at all stages of their research. The IRC assesses all research applications gender blind[17]. The 2016 update of the Action Plan highlighted the positive impact of gender blinding of applicants and strong results supporting gender equality among its early career stage awardees[18].

The SFI Gender Strategy and Action Plan 2016-2020, “Agenda 2020”, initiated and supported a number of stimuli to enhance women’s participation in research and research decision-making, particularly in STEM areas[19]. The SFI’s 2018 review of gender redress initiatives highlighted the slow process of achieving gender equality in research applications and content. The SFI has taken several approaches to realising its Gender Strategy. It supports researchers at the most critical junctures in their careers, encourages more applications from outstanding women researchers (e.g. 2020 Preferential Theme that sought more applicants from women research professors to the SFI Research Professorship Programme), redresses gender imbalances within SFI teams, and develops institutional culture and awareness of gender issues[20].

The Health Research Board (HRB) Gender Equality Policy 2019 commits to addressing unconscious bias in the peer-review process, developing monitoring of gender equality, improving grant management practices through an independent observation study, fostering the integration of sex and/or gender in research and innovation content, and assuming greater national responsibility for promoting gender equality in health research[21].

The Centre of Excellence for Gender Equality was established in the HEA in June 2019. It aims to ensure sustainable acceleration towards gender equality through centralised support for HEIs and dissemination of good practice. The Centre runs the Senior Academic Leadership Initiative 2019 (SALI)[22] and the Gender Equality Enhancement Fund (GEEF)[23], implements the Athena SWAN Charter[24], the National Consent Framework[25] and the National Staff and Student Survey on Sexual Violence and Sexual Harassment 2021[26],[27]

SALI was launched by the Department of Education and Skills in June 2019. It is an innovative, targeted positive action initiative that aims to accelerate representation of women in senior academic roles in Irish HEIs. SALI will award funding for up to 45 new posts for women in senior academic leadership roles across all Irish HEIs by 2024. This positive action aims to change the existing cultural structures that have led to a greater number of men occupying the higher positions in Irish HEIs, particularly in traditionally male-oriented disciplines[28].

The GEEF uses HEA award funding to advance gender equality initiatives in Irish HEIs. In 2020, GEEF awarded EUR 286,114 across three areas: (1) research into or advancing gender equality initiatives in Ireland; (2) training programmes specifically addressing gender equality; and (3) Athena SWAN capacity-building activities. Projects were funded across several areas, including the promotion of women role models in the physical sciences, technology, engineering and mathematics (pSTEM), development and implementation of gender identity, expression and diversity training for staff in Irish HEIs, establishment of networks to support women’s participation in computer science, resources to support the academic advancement of women in mid-career, provision of gender equality-based leadership training to future leaders, and development of resources to assist departments to model gender-disaggregated data against national trends[29].

The Athena SWAN National Committee was reconstituted in March 2018 for a term of three years. The Committee comprises representatives from eligible HEIs, Advance Higher Education and the HEA, the Irish Universities Association (IUA), the Technological Higher Education Association (THEA), and Irish research agencies. The original remit was to encourage and recognise commitment to advancing the careers of women in science, technology, engineering, maths and medicine (STEMM). It has expanded to include arts, humanities, social sciences, business and law (AHSSBL) and staff working in professional, managerial and support roles (PMSS). A broader undertaking includes consideration of the experience of transgender staff and students, as well as the underrepresentation of men in particular disciplines[30].

Key actors

In 2015, the HEA initiated a comprehensive national review of all HEIs’ gender profiles and gender equality policies. It then produced the “National Review of Gender Equality in Irish Higher Education Institutes 2016” as a starting point to analyse the slow progress of achieving gender equality in Irish HEIs[31]. The Centre of Excellence for Gender Equality was initiated in June 2019[32].

Research funding organisations active in promoting gender equality and gender in research content include the IRC, SFI and HRB. The IRC and HRB support HEIs in the GENDER-NET Plus programme. Launched in 2017 and set to run until 2022, the programme promotes gender equality in research organisations, research analysis and research content. In 2019, researchers were awarded EUR 1.7 million in funding under this programme[33].

The IUA represents, supports and advocates on matters of shared sectoral concern and is the interface between universities and the State. In 2019, the IUA set up a high-level group for Vice-Presidents for Equality, Diversity and Inclusion, which will coordinate the work of universities in this priority area[34].

The THEA (formerly Institutes of Technology Ireland) joined with the Dublin Institute of Technology in 2017 to form a cohesive single advocacy body. It supports the sector as it moves toward planned reform of the higher education system, including the creation of a series of Technological Universities in Ireland[35].

INITIATIVES FOR GENDER EQUALITY BY RESEARCH PERFORMING ORGANISATIONS

The Athena SWAN Charter and Awards is the single most significant gender equality initiative in Irish HEIs and research organisations. The main research funding organisations in Ireland have made compliance with the Charter a condition of research funding. Irish universities have created and published Gender Action Plans (GEPs) on institutional websites by the end of 2019 as part of the Charter’s Bronze Award. Institutes of Technology have created GEPs as part of the Athena SWAN Legacy Award, and are expected to achieve the Bronze Award by 2022. Compliance entails each institution creating a working group/steering group to create, disseminate, implement, evaluate and update their GEPs annually in line with the 10 goals of the Athena SWAN Charter. They must also submit their findings to the HEA in order to achieve, maintain or renew their award. This includes working towards increasing the proportion of women employed in their institution, improving the representation of women on committees, enhancing the transition from post-doctoral researcher to first academic post, improving working practices to support career progression, and supporting women’s networking[36]. The Athena SWAN Charter is an invaluable lever in changing institutional and departmental cultures.

Maynooth University developed a National Gender Equality Dashboard for HEIs. The Dashboard was launched by the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science in March 2021. It offers a valuable baseline to visualise and measure progress on gender equality across all grades of staff in HEIs[37]. AS part of the Irish Citizens’ Assembly on Gender Equality 2021, staff at Maynooth University were involved in analysing the pervasive and prevalence of gender-based violence, and COVID-19 as a marked catalyst in advancing gender-based violence[38]. 

NUIG’s Active Consent team conducted the original research that led to the development of the Active Consent Programme[39],[40][41]. The Minister for Further and Higher Education, Simon Harris, launched the Active Consent Toolkit, including an eLearning module, in September 2020. It is a practical resource, research and strategy development tool that is aligned with the National Framework for Consent in Higher Education Institutions: Safe, Respectful, Supportive and Positive – Ending Sexual Violence and Harassment in Third-Level Education 2019[42]. The online “Consent Education Programme 2020-2021, Sexual Violence and Harassment: How to Support Yourself and Your Peers” was available for use from 15 October 2020[43].

The Bystander Intervention Programme was developed for Irish HEIs by UCC[44], as a strategic response to the issues of sexual misconduct and violence in the student population. It includes calling out all forms of discrimination in a bid to prompt attitude and behavioural change across the university, among students and staff alike.

The Women in Leadership Conference is a one-day annual event that brings women together and showcases their talent to inspire others towards excellence. Since 2015, the event has been run by University College Dublin’s (UCD) Alumni Relations and the Societies Council. The conference has developed and evolved to include the changing role of women and the barriers faced by women entering positions of leadership in the workplace, STEM education, sports, arts and media. It is a professional, well-managed event, with the integrity of a grassroots, volunteer-led, passion project. Every year, it is attended by several hundred participants, and keynote speakers include high-profile business, political and media personalities[45].

RELEVANT EXAMPLES OF PRACTICES

The Trinity Centre for Gender Equality and Leadership (TCGEL, formerly WiSER), was formed in October 2017. In recognition of its work to recruit, retain, return and advance women in academic science, engineering and technology, its remit was extended to all disciplines and support areas across the university. The TCGEL seeks to deliver sustainable structural and cultural change, and a working environment that exemplifies good practice and equality, by building on the success of the Athena SWAN Bronze Award. In collaboration with partners from the Horizon 2020 project, System Action for Gender Equality (SAGE), and eminent academic researchers across the EU, it published “The Gender-Sensitive University: A contradiction in Terms?” in July 2020. The book explores prevailing forces that pose obstacles to a gender-sensitive university and demonstrates that awareness and embedding of gender equality and gender sensitivity are essential for change. This requires re-envisioning academia to develop new forms of leadership, engage men differently, and facilitate a shift towards fluidity in how gender is formulated and performed[46].

The government’s trade and innovation agency, Enterprise Ireland, launched the “2020 Action Plan for Women in Business: Fuelling growth through diversity”. The Action Plan aims to drive national economic success by increasing the participation of women in entrepreneurship and business leadership, creating funding that targets women entrepreneurs and women researchers with the potential to advance their research into viable business propositions, and piloting an initiative to include women leaders/senior managers in project teams from third-level institutions[47].

Footnotes

[1] http://www.irishstatuebook.ie/eli/1998/act/21/enacted/en/html

[2] www.irishstatuebook.ie/eli/2000/act/8/enacted/en/html

[3] www.irishstatuebook.ie/eli/2006/act/25/enaced/en/html

[4] www.irishstatuebook.ie/eli/1997/act/24/enacted/en/html

[5] www.irishstatuebook.ie/eli/2018/act/3/enacted/en/html

[6] www.irishstatuebook.ie/eli/2014/act/25/enacted/en/html

[7] www.irishstatuebook.ie/eli/1971/act/22/enacted/en/html

[8] HEA, National Review of Gender Equality in Irish Higher Education Institutions, Dublin: HEA Publishing, 2016.

[9] HEA, Gender Action Plan 2018-2020, Dublin: HEA Publishing, 2018.

[10] Department of Justice and Equality, National Strategy for Women and Girls 2017-2020, Dublin: Government Press, 2017.

[11] Department of Education and Skills, STEM Education Policy Statement 2017-2026, Dublin: Government Press, 2017.

[12] McCarthy Flynn, Ending Sexual Harassment and Violence in Third Level Education, ESHTE Project, Dublin: National Women's Council of Ireland, 2017.

[13] MacNeela et al., Smart Consent: Development, Implementation, and Evaluation of the SMART Consent Workshop on Sexual Consent for Third Level Students, Galway: University Press, 2018.

[14]www.ucc.ie/en/news/ucc-launches-bystander-intervention-programme

[15] Department of Education and Skills, Safe, Respectful, Supportive and Positive: Ending Sexual Violence and Harassment in Irish Higher Education Institutions, Dublin: Department of Education and Skills, 2019.

[16] HEA, Gender Action Plan 2018-2020. Dublin: HEA Publishing, 2018.

[17] IRC, Gender Strategy & Actions Plan 2013-2020, Dublin: IRC, 2012.

[18] IRC, Irish Research Council policies and practice to promote gender equality and integration of gender analysis in research, Dublin: IRC, 2016.

[19] SFI, Science Foundation Ireland Gender Strategy 2016-2020, Dublin: Science Foundation Ireland, 2016.

[20] www.sfi.ie/research-news/publications/SFI-Gender-Data-report-Nov-2018.pdf

[21] www.hrb.ie/fileadmin/user_upload/HRB_Gender_Policy_Nov_2019.pdf

[22] www.hea.ie/funding-calls/senior-academic-leadership-initiative/   

[23] HEA, Gender Action Plan 2018-2020, Dublin: HEA Publishing, 2018.

[24] www.hea.ie/policy/gender/athena-swan/

[25] Department of Education and Skills, Safe, Respectful, Supportive and Positive: Ending Sexual Violence and Harassment in Irish Higher Education Institutions, Dublin: Department of Education and Skills, 2019.

[26] www.gov.ie/en/press-release/a8e67-minister-harris-launches

[27] www.hea.ie/policy/gender/gener-equality-enhancement-fund/

[28] www.hea.ie/funding-calls/senior-academic-leadership-initiative/   

[29] www.hea.ie/policy/gender/gener-equality-enhancement-fund/

[30] ibid.

[31] HEA, National Review of Gender Equality in Irish Higher Education Institutions, Dublin: HEA Publishing, 2016.

[32] www.hea.ie/policy/gender/

[33] www.research.ie/2019/03/08/minister-mitchell-oconnor-briefed-by-irish-ge...

[34] www.iua.ie

[35] www.thea.ie/about-thea/

[36] www.hea.ie/policy/gender/gener-equality-enhancement-fund/

[37] www.maynoothuniversity.ie/research/research-news-events/latest-news/mini...

[38] www.citizenassembly.ie/en/news-publications/press-releases/citizen-assem...

[39] MacNeela et al., Young People, Alcohol and Sex: What's Consent Got to Do With It? Rape Crises Network of Ireland and National University of Ireland Galway, Dublin: NUIG Press, 2019.

[40] MacNeela et al., Smart Consent: Development, Implementation, and Evaluation of the SMART Consent Workshop on Sexual Consent for Third Level Students, Galway: University Press, 2018.

[41] Burke et al., Active Consent/Union of Students in Ireland Sexual Experiences Survey 2020. Union of Students in Ireland. Galway: NUI Galway, 2019.

[42] Department of Education and Skills, Safe, Respectful, Supportive and Positive: Ending Sexual Violence and Harassment in Irish Higher Education Institutions. Dublin: Department of Education and Skills, 2019.

[43] www.gov.ie/en/press-release/29ab6-minister-simon-harris-launches-nui-gal...

[44] www.ucc.ie/en/news/ucc-launches-bystander-intervention-programme

[45] www.alumni.ucd.ie/ucd-women-in-leadership-2021/

[46] www.tcd.ie/tcgel/resources/multimedia.php

[47] www.enterprise-ireland.com/en/Publications/Reports-Published-Strategies/...

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