One Year On: Athena Swan Culture Survey 2023 

What you Said vs Actions Taken/What we Did 

Several interventions have been introduced in response to issues raised through our 2023 Athena Swan survey, some of which are outlined below. One of the core benefits of Athena Swan is that all actions are evidence-based and grounded in quantitative and qualitative analysis. This ensures that we are responding to the felt needs of staff on the ground.   

Another advantage is that Athena Swan is based on a four-year cycle which can enable the Institutional Self Assessment Team (SAT) to drive programs and initiatives that may have been in the planning phase for some time within a timely manner. As a result, the Institutional SAT and the OVPEDI have been working with colleagues across the University in units, including Human Resources, the office of the Deputy President and Registrar and others, to implement large and small-scale actions, interventions and programmes. Some examples are included below. 

A wide range of evidence based gender equality interventions have been introduced over the past number of years in relation to the University’s Athena Swan work. Some of these interventions, as well as testimonials on their impact from staff, are included below.

It should be noted that though feedback on the interventions outlined here are positive, staff’s responses have also indicted that broader systematic issues that can be seen throughout Higher Education Institutions still persist, and we are also working to address these in the longer term in a sustainable way.

Athena SWAN in action

University of Galway put in place a number of actions from our 2017 - 2020 Action Plan, which have resulted in tangible change including:

• Meetings During Core Hours Policy (2016)
• A range of grants to support academic carers (2016, 17)
• Access to Parental Leave savings at school/unit level (2016)
• Improved Maternity Leave cover (2016)
• Paternity Leave policy introduced (2017)
• Academic Workload Allocation Guidelines (2018)
• EDI work being specifically referenced in the contribution element of the criterion for promotion (2022)
• Post-maternity Return to Work (Ramp-up) Workshops
• Unconscious Bias Training
• EDI Grants
• Aurora Women Leadership Development Programme: 131 women across all staff categories supported so far
• Academic Career Development Workshops held bi-annually

We now have processes, practices and mechanisms to ensure frequent monitoring and awareness of gender in our key decision-making processes. For example:

• EIA (Equality Impact Assessment) of all new and revised policies
• Recruitment monitoring
• Complete reform of academic promotions processes at both Senior Lecturer and Professorial Levels

Testimonial from Staff: 

“Culture change takes time, but when it embraces flexibility, family-friendly working practices, and commitment to career advancement for all, its impact is profound. The institutions returners grant for staff on carer leave is a standout intervention as it recognizes the career setbacks of caregiving responsibilities.” 
            Mary Dempsey, Vice Dean for Equality, Diversity and Inclusion, CSE 

EDI Grants /Promotions Project

A number of grants have been established to support academic staff returning from extended periods of caring (e.g., maternity/adoptive) leave.  

• Research Grant for Returning Academic Carers are grants of 10,000 which are available for women on their immediate return from leave.
• The Research Capacity Building Grant of 5,000 is for academic/research staff who had an extended period of unsupported leave connected with caring, critical illness or bereavement at any point during their academic career. 

Testimonials from Staff: 

“The Research Grant for Returning Academic Carers was hugely important to allowing me to engage with new technologies and methods following a period of parental leave. The work it supported gave focus for my research over the next two years, and formed the basis of successful grant application”  
         Dr Niall Madden, School of Mathematics Statistics & Applied Mathematics 

 “I was awarded the Research Grant for Retuning Academic at the beginning of 2018, just after retuning from my maternity leave. The Award came at the most needed time when I was reactivating my research after the leave. The freedom to decide how to use the Award was essential for me because I could decide the best way to invest it. The research outcomes obtained thanks to my award were pivotal to become successful in following funding applications.” 
          Dr Sara Farrona, School of Biological and Chemical Sciences 

 “The EDI Returner Grant provided me with the invaluable opportunity to develop a research project I had considered working on prior to leave. As a result of the grant, I was able to employ a research assistant who worked with me on a further funding application, a book proposal and a partnership with two local schools. This built a foundation to explore an area that would not have been possible without this support.” 
           Dr Sarah-Anne Buckley, School of History and Philosophy  

“I benefited from the EDI Returner Grant after a nearly year long maternity leave. This is an amazing initiative, which really helped me to reprioritise my research straight away. I could plan what I wanted to achieve within a year of coming back and how best to position myself to secure my next funding. Things often do not go as planned however and the wonderful flexibility of the grant allowed me to deal with unexpected circumstances and redirect funds into an existing project to maximise its impact and most importantly allow one of my PhD students to start writing up and advance towards completion. This grant had, without doubt, a very positive impact on my research.” 
            Dr Florence Abram, School of Biological and Chemical Sciences 

Impact of Research Grant for Returning Academic Carers and Research Capacity Building grant: 

In total, 102 of these grants were awarded between 2016/17 and 2021/22. An assessment of how women have fared since being awarded these grants indicates that: 

• 29 of the 61 staff who were Lecturer Above the Bar (LAB) when they received one of the grants have since been promoted: 25 to SL, 1 to Professor In, and 2 to Associate Professor.
• 6 of the 7 staff at Lecturer Below the Bar (LBB) were promoted: 5 to Lectuer Above the Bar(LAB), and 1 to Senior Lecturer
• 3 of the 24 staff at Senior Lecturer (SL) were promoted: 1 to Professor In, and 2 to Associate Professor. 

University of Galway's Promotions Project

The Research Consolidation Grant was established under University of Galway's "Promotions Project". The grant of €5,000 is for female Senior Lecturers to consolidate research development as a key element of making a strong application for promotion to Professorship.

In 2019 the University instigated a three-year ‘Promotions Project’, based on the University of Tromsø model (Rice 2011). The project aimed to support academic women who were imminently preparing to apply for promotion. Support included career development workshops and individualized CV analysis by a suitable senior academic. Protected time to write grants/papers, and travel for consultation were provided where required. A research grant of 3,000 was also offered to female SLs to consolidate research development. 

Impact of Promotions Project: 

In total, 77 women have participated in the Promotions Project, 15 at Lecturer Below the Bar(LBB), 52 at Lecturer Above the Bar(LAB) and 10 at Senior Lecturer(SL). Analysis of the career trajectory of these women reveals that:  

• 11 of the 15 women at LBB have moved to higher grades. 10 progressed to LAB, and 1 
• has since been promoted to SL. 
• 25 of the 52 women at LAB have since been promoted, 20 to SL, and 5 to Professor. 
• 3 of the 10 women at SL have since been promoted to Professor. 

Following staff consultation, this grant has been increased to 5,000 in 2024 so it can have further impact. 

Testimonials from Staff:  

“The mid-Career Consolidation Grant was very beneficial as it allowed me to think strategically about opportunities that I could avail of with a small funding injection. With this Grant, I employed two highly skilled summer interns, one of which carried our air quality research that underpinned a major successful research proposal, and the other, on radon investigations, that led to further funding and a research report. I also made some small equipment purchases, which extended the range of student projects that I could offer, thus increasing my potential to attract talented students for future PhD studies.”
           Dr Miriam Byrne, Senior Lecturer, School of Natural Sciences. 

“I am very grateful for the supports provided by the University's EDI department which have been transformational to my career progression. I applied for, and was awarded, both the Athena Swan Mid-Career Research Grant (2017), and the Research Consolidation Grant (2021) to support my successful promotion to both Senior Lecturer (2017) and Personal Professor (2022). As a busy mother of five children, these awards were instrumental in building confidence and providing practical support, which enabled me to work at the highest level as an academic.” 
            Prof. Jane Walsh, School of Psychology 

Whether these grants and the Promotions Project had a direct impact on staff’s promotion success is not certain, but the comments above combined with other anecdotal evidence suggests that they do provide awardees with some much-needed support while other deeply embedded systemic barriers are addressed in the longer term. 

Family Leave (Maternity/Paternity, Adoptive or Parental Leave) 

In the 2023 Athena Culture survey, almost one-third (305/1016) of the respondents had taken family leave.

Analysis of staff responses indicate that staff who have taken family leave in the recent 7 years since the University started engaging with Athena Swan than those who availed of this leave previously:

• 84% of the respondents who had taken leave in the recent 7 years indicated the process of taking leave was supportive. 
• 62% of those who took the leave more than seven years ago indicated the process of taking leave was supportive. 

As a result of the survey findings and the qualitative comments in the survey, some further action has been taken by the OVPEDI and HR to improve the family leave process.

Future Actions to Tackle Issues Identified

• Guidelines for managers on how they can support staff going on and returning from extended periods of leave including maternity/adoptive leave being developed 
• Cover for academic staff on maternity leave will be increased  
• Focus groups will be held in April 2024 by HR/the OVPEDI with staff to availed of maternity/adoptive leave over the past 5 years for further input/feedback on how current policies and practices could be improved 

Aurora Women’s Leadership Programme

173 female staff from University of Galway have completed the Aurora programme.

University of Galway have increased the number of women on the programme year-on-year.

Of the 53 of women who have officially signed up to become members of University of Galway’s Aurora Alumni Network. 27 Alumni have indicated that they have been promoted since completing the programme, with many noting that the confidence gained when completing the Aurora Programme was an important factor in their success.

Testimonials from Staff:

“Last year, I undertook the Advance Higher Education Aurora Leadership Programme, sponsored by the University of Galway. Looking back to my Aurora journey, I can say that it was an invaluable opportunity at the right time for me as an early career researcher, just before embarking on an independent principal investigator role. The most unique and inspiring element of Aurora has been the mentorship component for me, which helped me in many ways in achieving my personal and professional development goals. I could not thank my mentor, Associate Professor Florence Abram, enough for her time invested in this process, and the safe bubble she provided me to self-reflect. The Aurora programme has helped provide me with a toolkit and a skill set for my leadership development. It helped me in building my identity as a leader, broadened my professional network, and helped identify my core values. It also encouraged me, with the help of other researchers, to set up a Research Staff Network within the University of Galway. I hope to help researchers feel more included within the University through the activities of this network by providing a community to support each other with a sense of belonging.”               
            Dr Merve Zeden, Research Fellow

“Aurora guided me in identifying my current position on my leadership journey and the strategies to close the distance to my desired destination. This program effectively combined theoretical knowledge with practical application, allowing me to outline my goals in a realistic and attainable way.  Even now, I continue to apply certain elements of the program, especially when navigating through uncertainty.”
           Dr Natalie Walsh, Director of Entrepreneurial Development

Collaborations with Other Offices

One of the core benefits of Athena Swan is that all actions are evidence based and grounded in quantitative and qualitative analysis. This ensures that we are responding to the felt needs of staff on the ground.  

Another advantage is that Athena Swan is based on a four year cycle which can enable key leaders in the Institutional Self Assessment Team to drive programmes and initiatives that may have been in the planning phase for some time within a timely manner. Some examples are included below.

University of Galway Leadership Development Programme

A Pilot University of Galway Leadership Development Programme was launched in March 2024 with the HR Learning and Development Office. This programme is embedded in equality, diversity and inclusion principles, with a people centred focus at its core.

This programme was developed in response to staff feedback with indicated that there are cases where there is a gap between policy and practice in regards to the EDI and broader policy structure.

Longer-term goal:

 To have a leadership development framework that will offer training to managers at lower, middle and senior management with equality, diversity and inclusion as a foundation.

University Mentorship Programme

Led by the HR Learning and Development Office, the establishment of a mentorship programme for the University was a core action in the University’s 2021 Athena Swan Action plan

Performance for Growth

Performance management systems are a central area that must be addressed by Athena Swan applicants.

International research indicates that such systems can be extremely effective in cultivating a strong, people-focused relationship between managers and their staff, ensuring that both the Institutions, and, most importantly, the staff’s needs are met and that time is allowed for both the manager and staff member to discuss staff member’s career development aspirations.

The Institutional Self Assessment Team agreed that a system like Performance for Growth would be one of our headline actions that could assist us in achieving our ultimate goal of achieving long-term sustained cultural change with EDI and a people-centred approach at its core.

Spearheaded by HR, the Institutional Self Assessment Team worked with colleagues in HR and leaders from across the University to ensure that Performance for Growth would be introduced by the end of 2023.

Workload Allocation

The introduction of Workload Allocation Models to ensure that work is delegated effectively, and workloads allow for development and other opportunities has been an important aim for our University for some time.

The Institutional Self Assessment Team committed to joining others in senior leadership and the Deputy President and Registrar's Office to drive the introduction of WAM across the University in its 2021 Athena by 2024.

Long-term goal:

The long-term goal for the ISAT in relation to the systems and procedures outlined above will be to drive their implementation in the future while consistently reviewing their efficacy with staff member’s lived experience being a core consideration.

Supports Around Extended Leave 

The OVPEDI in collaboration with HR worked with staff who recently availed of maternity/adoptive leave to change current management practices around going on and returning from maternity leave. As a result, guidelines for managers on how they can support staff during these transitions are being developed.

Long-term goal:

• Cover for academic staff on maternity leave will be increased.
• Focus groups will be held in April 2024 by HR/the OVPEDI with staff to availed of maternity/adoptive leave over the past 5 years for further input/feedback on how current policies and practices could be improved.

Impact of School/College-Level Interventions 

College:

"The College of Science and Engineering has five Athena SWAN Awards, including the School of Engineering Silver Award, marking the first Silver Award for an Engineering School in Ireland. These accolades demonstrate significant progress and heightened awareness of equality issues.
             Mary Dempsey, Vice Dean for Equality, Diversity and Inclusion, CSE 

School:

Case Study: The School of Psychology

 “The main cultural change for us is that gender equality is a continuous consideration at School executive and board level, as this is built into our school governance structures and processes through the role of the School Director of EDI/Chair of the Athena Swan SAT.”-
              Prof Gerard Molloy, Self Assessment Team Co-Chair for the School of Psychology  

Case Study: The School of Engineering  

“As a result of our Athena Swan work the percentage of undergraduate female students in the School of Engineering has continued to increase steadily to a current rate of 25.7%​, surpassing the national average female enrolment since 2018/19. 

The percentage of female academic staff holding senior roles has also increased reflecting career development support schemes for female staff, and expanded and inclusive promotions criteria.”
                 Dr Maeve Duffy and Prof Edward Jones, SAT Co-Chairs, School of Science and Engineering