Three more of Trinity’s schools have been recognised with bronze Athena SWAN awards in the latest round of results released today.
The Athena SWAN awards recognise institutional commitment to further gender equality in higher education through positive employment practices towards women.
The successful schools were Histories and Humanities, Computer Science and Statistics and Engineering. A total of 15 awards were announced for third-level institutions in Ireland.
For a research institute to be awarded at the Bronze level, it must produce a self assessment of current levels of gender equality, a four-year plan to build on this assessment, and a practical framework with which to implement proposed changes and measurements.
In a press statement, Trinity’s Associate Vice Provost for Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Clodagh Brook, said: “I’m thrilled to see our Schools attain 100% success rate for the second time in 6 months”, she said, referencing the five schools which were recognised in September 2020.
“It signals a step change and sees all the hard work and creative thought rewarded”, Brook said. “As Schools follow their action plans, we’ll see positive changes emerge for gender balance, for caring and maternity supports, workload, and broader equity that will benefit both men and women.”
With a current total of 10 awards, Trinity is working towards achieving an institutional Silver Athena SWAN award, which would recognise that the university has “taken action in response to previously identified challenges,” and that Athena SWAN is “well embedded” within “strong leadership in promoting the charter principles”.
In a press statement, Minister for Higher Education Simon Harris said: “I very much welcome today’s announcement of the 15 new Athena SWAN awards.”
“These awards represent a significant step forward for gender equality in our higher education institutions.”
He added: “We are making progress on this issue, and these awards recognise the commitment that our institutions are making to improving gender equality for those working in higher education.”
Trinity’s five-year strategic plan, the details of which were first revealed by The University Times last year, aims for 40 per cent female chair professors by 2025. Currently, College has approximately 32 per cent female chair professors.
Correction: 19:46, April 6th, 2021
An earlier version of this article incorrectly stated that 26 per cent of Trinity’s chair professors are female. In fact, 32 per cent are female.
