A total of four schools, including the agriculture and veterinary schools, in University College Dublin (UCD) have received awards from a gender inclusion charter and awards framework.
The awards come as a result of the schools’ work in “advancing the careers of women in higher education and ensuring gender equality and inclusion for all”, according to a recent statement on the awards.
The schools have been awarded the Bronze Athena SWAN Award.
- UCD School of Agriculture and Food Science;
- UCD School of Veterinary Medicine;
- UCD School of Archaeology;
- UCD School of Biomolecular and Biomedical Science.
According to a statement from the university, the Athena SWAN is a gender inclusion charter and awards framework to advance the careers of women in higher education and ensure gender equality and inclusion for all.
L-R: Dr. Siobhán McClean; Dr. Meriel McClatchie; Prof. Orla Feely; Prof. Frank Monahan; and Prof. Torres Sweeney
Together these four schools encompass some 525 staff and 3,648 students.
Commenting on the announcement, Prof. Orla Feely, chair of UCD’s Gender Equality Action Group, said: “I congratulate the four schools that have secured Athena SWAN awards.
Their strong commitment to transforming their culture, driving gender inclusion, is ultimately making UCD a more inclusive place in which to work and study.
Building on UCD’s institutional Bronze Award, these awards mark the first round of UCD schools that have embarked on a data-driven audit and a school-wide consultation of gender equality and inclusion among employees and students.
As a result of the audits, they have begun to implement ambitious four-year gender equality strategies to ensure gender equality.
Examples of steps these schools are taking to create an inclusive culture include plans to gender-proof their workload distribution models to ensure work is transparently and equitably allocated.
It is also planned to reach out to secondary schools to increase participation in their subjects where women are under-represented, and to highlight female role models in disciplines where there is under-representation.
Concluding, Prof. Feely said: “Diversity is highlighted in the university’s strategic plan as one of the core values of UCD.
“The Athena SWAN process reflects this, and is central to our ability to deliver on UCD’s Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Strategy,” Prof. Feely concluded.
A further 18 schools and one college are progressing their own applications.