Three of Trinity’s schools receive Athena SWAN bronze awards for commitment to gender equality

Trinity’s Schools of History and Humanities, Computer Science and Statistics and the School of Engineering have all received the award, bringing the university’s total to 10

Three of Trinity’s schools received Athena Scientific Women’s Academic Network (SWAN) bronze awards for their commitment to the promotion of gender equality.

Schools in receipt of the award include the School of History and Humanities, the School of  Computer Science and Statistics and the School of Engineering.

This brings Trinity’s total Athena SWAN awards to 10. 

The Athena SWAN charter was launched in Ireland in 2015, but has been operating globally since 2005. It acts as a framework used to support and transform gender equality in higher education and research. 

The charter, which originally aimed to encourage and recognise commitment to advancement of the careers of women in STEMM, has since expanded to include the Arts, Humanities, Social Sciences, Business and Law (AHSSBL) as well as staff working in professional, managerial and support roles (PMSS). 

Submissions for the Athena SWAN awards were made between November 2020 and January 2021. On 31 March 2021, 15 of these awards were awarded to Irish Higher Education Institutions (HEI’s). 

Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science Simon Harris expressed that he “very much welcomes” the announcement of the 15 awards for Irish third level institutions. “These awards represent a significant step forward for gender equality in our higher education institutions,” he continued.

Since 2020, Trinity has secured seven of these awards. As a result, College now holds almost a fifth of the 52 Athena SWAN School awards held by Irish HEIs. Attaining these Bronze awards is an important step towards applying for a further Athena SWAN Institutional Silver award.

Engagement and progress with the Athena SWAN charter is linked to institutional eligibility for funding from Ireland’s major research agencies.

Speaking on Trinity’s success, Associate Vice-Provost for Equality, Diversity and Inclusion in Trinity Clodagh Brook said: “I’m thrilled to see our Schools attain 100% success rate for the second time in 6 months”. 

She continued that “it signals a step change and sees all the hard work and creative thought rewarded”. 

“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” she continued.

The Athena SWAN framework now also works to recognise efforts undertaken to address gender equality more broadly This includes consideration of the experience of transgender staff and students, as well as the underrepresentation of men in particular disciplines. 

 

Bonnie Gill

Bonnie Gill is current News Analysis Editor for Trinity News and previously served as the College Correspondent. She is a Senior Sophister Film Studies and English Literature student.