Trinity College Dublin Law School Receives Athena SWAN Bronze Award

The Law School at Trinity College Dublin, the Department of Law at Maynooth University and the School of Law at University College Cork have been awarded Bronze - the first three Law Schools in this jurisdiction to receive this important gender equality award. The award, granted September 2020, is valid until April 2024.

Background to Athena SWAN

The Athena SWAN (Scientific Women’s Academic Network) Charter is the internationally recognised quality mark for gender equality in universities/colleges.

The Charter was established in 2005 by the Equality Challenge Unit (ECU) in the UK to encourage and recognise commitment to advancing the careers of women in science, technology, engineering, maths and medicine (STEMM) employment in higher education and research. In May 2015 the scope of the Athena SWAN Charter was expanded to cover gender equality in arts, humanities, social sciences, business and law disciplines, staff in professional and support roles, and for trans* staff and students. The Charter, now run by Advance HE, now recognises work undertaken to address gender equality more broadly, not just the barriers to progression that affect women.

The Charter was expanded to Ireland in 2014, managed by ECU and supported by the HEA. Accreditation under the Charter is made at bronze, silver and gold levels. Trinity College Dublin has a bronze medal at institutional level, awarded in 2015 and renewed in 2019, but Schools and Faculties can also apply separately; a number in TCD have already carried out the process. More information about the Charter in Trinity can be accessed here.

The application process involves the gathering of quantitative data broken down by gender, and the conduct of surveys of both staff and students; followed by the writing-up and devising of an Action Plan for gender equality.

Fourteen Schools at Trinity have secured bronze Athena SWAN awards to date. More information on the Law School's Athena SWAN can be found here.