Gender Equality Action Plan

Gender Equality Recommendations

The Vice President for Equality & Diversity finalised the first NUI Galway Gender Equality Action Plan (GEAP) in 2016 to ensure the implementation of the recommendations from the Final Report of the Gender Equality Task Force May 2016 and those of the HEA National Review of Gender Equality in Irish Higher Education Institutions(June 2016). The GEAP was approved by UMT in September 2016 and subsequently by Údarás na hOllscoile in November 2016. After 3 years of implementation 22 of the 24 actions were completed or on target, and the GEAP was reviewed and updated to include new actions again based on recommendations from the HEA and the Ministerial Gender Equality Taskforce Action Plan 2018-2020. The GEAP 2019-2020 was approved by Údarás na hOllscoile in June 2019.

The NUI Galway GEAP is based on external best practice and recommendations as outlined by the HEA and Department of Education and Skills. It identifies sets of actions, lead responsibilities, and time lines for the implementation of actions across various themes, including Culture, Governance, Athena SWAN, Training & Development, Recruitment, and Promotion. The GEAP is updated by the Vice President for Equality & Diversity every 2 months to ensure progress and oversight. 

History

Report of the Expert Review Group: HEA National Review of Gender Equality in Irish Higher Education Institutions

The HEA commissioned a national review of gender equality in higher education in 2015. Focusing on staff in Irish higher education, the review supported an in-depth analysis of the gender-balance of academic and non-academic staff across all grades of employment as well as institutions’ management teams, academic councils and governing boards. The HEA National Review of Gender Equality in Irish Higher Education Institutions was published in June 2016. The recommendations of the HEA Expert Review Group go beyond Higher Education Institutions to include recommendations to the HEA, Irish Research Funding agencies, the DES, and other stakeholders. 

Report of the NUI Galway Gender Equality Taskforce

In February 2015 NUI Galway established a Gender Equality Taskforce in response to the Employment Equality Tribunal's decision in Dr. Micheline Sheehy Skeffington's case. Under the Chair of Professor Jane Grimson, Former Vice-Provost, Trinity College Dublin, the remit of the taskforce was "To consider the University’s present gender mix among staff, including academic and support staff, and advise the University what measures it should take to develop effective gender equality”. The taskforce developed their Taskforce Terms of Reference and met on seven occassions during the course of their term including wide consultation and requested presentations and reports. Their work culminated in the Final Report of the Gender Equality Task Force May 2016 which contains 24 evidence-based recommendations designed to tackle one or more aspects of gender equality.

Report of the Ministerial Gender Equality Taskforce 

In November 2017 Minister for Higher Education, Mary Mitchell O'Connor, established a Gender Equality Taskforce to review the progress and state of gender equality in higher education institutes since the publication of the HEA Report of the Expert Review Group. The Taskforce oversaw a national systems review of the recruitment and promotion policies and practices currently in place in higher education institutions, with a view to identifying good-practice and highlighting areas that need improvement. This review fed into the development of a prioritised three year action plan, which built on the recommendations laid out by the HEA. The Ministerial Taskforce's Gender Action Plan 2018-2020 was launched in Nov 2018 and provides further guidance on implementing change within HEIs.