Three quarters of Athena SWAN applications made by higher education institutions in Ireland have been awarded Bronze in the latest round of awards, the highest ever success rate. A total of 15 awards were achieved in the April 2020 assessment round bringing the total number of awards in Ireland to 56.
Submissions for the award, which recognises the commitment of institutions and departments to improve gender equality, were completed and submitted during the national Covid-19 lockdown.
The latest awards conferred include firsts for Nursing, Dentistry, Law and Psychology departments and first time institutional recognition for National College of Ireland (NCI). In total, 12 departments and three institutions achieved Bronze status.
Our higher education institutions must be leaders in gender equality. They must demonstrate to Government and to students their commitment to fairness, equality, dignity and respect.
“The Athena SWAN framework offers institutions an opportunity to show progress and to demonstrate leadership. I am delighted to see the success rate this year and hope we can build on this as we move forward.
“Since I have taken office, I have made it clear this Department will be one of inclusion and I want our higher education institutions to be a leader in this area.”
Simon Harris TD, Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science in Ireland
The innovation and commitment of applicants given the Covid-19 restrictions in place was impressive. That the highest ever success rate at 75% was achieved despite these circumstances is a testament to the hard work of institutions and departments over several years.
"The implementation of these applicants’ action plans will drive progress on gender equality in our sector and will be particularly important as the gendered impacts of Covid-19 emerge.”
Dr Victoria Brownlee, Head of Athena SWAN Ireland
Fourteen institutions and 42 departments now hold Athena SWAN awards in Ireland. The presentation ceremony for November 2019 and April 2020 awardees would usually take place in Autumn 2020 but is postponed until at least spring 2021 due to Covid-19 restrictions.
Institutions achieving a Bronze Athena Swan award in 2020 are National College of Ireland, University College Dublin and Dublin City University.
Departments in Irish HEIs achieving an Athena Swan Bronze award in 2020 are:
Trinity College Dublin
- School of Social Work and Social Policy
- School of Physics
- School of Genetics and Microbiology
- School of Psychology
- School of Law
University of Limerick
- Psychology
- Faculty of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences
University College Cork
- Dental School and Hospital
- Nursing and Midwifery
NUI Galway
- School of Physics
- School of Business and Economics
Maynooth University
- School of Law
View the full list of Athena SWAN award holders in Ireland
Find out more about Athena SWAN in Ireland