Athena SWAN in our School
Athena SWAN (Scientific Women’s Academic Network) Charter is the internationally recognised quality mark for gender equality in universities/colleges. The School of Genetics and Microbiology was awarded Athena SWAN Bronze in 2020, with the formal award ceremony held online on 20 October 2021. The Athena SWAN awards recognise the commitment of institutions and departments to improve gender equality. Congratulations to the School SAT, led by Prof. Aoife McLysaght, on the success of the application. The award demonstrates that the school has strong evidence-informed plans to address barriers to gender equity and develop inclusive culture and practices. Our action plan addresses the following themes:- Supporting and encouraging existing females in academia
- Addressing gender imbalance in recruitment of academic staff
- Addressing gender equality for research staff
- Increasing female undergraduate (UG) and postgraduate (PG) student intake
- Supporting carers and families
- Ensuring implementation of the action plan
- Foundational changes to support EDI
The School is currently working towards a Silver Award, and will be making its submission in 2024. The Silver Award application must demonstrate impact of the action plan from the Bronze application.See our School's 2020 action plan with details of actions that are completed/in progress/not undertaken here.
Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science, Simon Harris, said: “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."
Members of the School Athena SWAN SAT, including Head of School Prof. Jane Farrar and current Athena SWAN Chair, Dr Sinéad Corr, with our Bronze award.