President's Welcome
Dear Colleagues and Students,
Maynooth University’s 2018 Athena SWAN Bronze Award represented a key milestone and recognition of our University community’s commitment to advancing gender equality. Maynooth University was the first Irish institution to apply under the expanded version of the charter that includes Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences disciplines as well as Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics and Medicine. It also incorporates intersectionality, taking into account the numerous factors that can overlap with gender inequality, including the intersections between gender, race and ethnicity.
The cornerstone of Maynooth University’s Athena SWAN application was its comprehensive Action Plan, which is underpinned by the University’s Equality and Diversity Policy. The Maynooth University Gender Equality Action Plan will be ongoing until the Athena Swan Bronze renewal process is complete in 2023.
Significant progress has been made on key actions including: the appointment of our Vice-President for Equality, Diversity and Interculturalism (EDI), Dr Gemma Irvine and the establishment of the EDI Office; the development of a Gender Identity and Expression Policy encompassing transgender and gender diverse staff and students; and the development of the National Gender Equality Dashboard for Higher Education Institutions by AIRO, which Maynooth University hosts and which is an important resource for the sector.
Thirteen Maynooth University Departments/Schools have now achieved Athena Swan Bronze: in addition to the six departments and two schools in the Faculty of Arts, Celtic Studies & Philosophy, the departments of Chemistry, Psychology, Biology, Geography and Law each hold Bronze Department Awards, and many more have started their critical reflective analysis and are progressing their applications. It is particularly timely that our Institutional Athena Swan Bronze renewal will coincide with the development of our new Maynooth University Strategic Plan. This gives us an excellent opportunity to envision a university that is equal, diverse, and inclusive, and develop a proactive strategy and action plan to achieve this.
In 2022, for the first time, Irish Higher Education Institutions are required to report on their gender pay gap as per the Gender Pay Gap Information Act 2021. It is important to note that the gender pay gap does not indicate pay discrimination (i.e. an absence of equal pay for the same work, which was outlawed in the Republic of Ireland by equal pay legislation in 1975), rather it is the gap between what is earned on average by all female employees in the organisation compared to all male employees in the organisation. While not constituting pay discrimination, a gap may indicate that there are differences in the roles that women are represented in compared to men. It is important to identify any barriers or biases that may lead to a gender pay gap and through the work outlined above and our Maynooth University Gender Equality Action Plan we are actively working to address this.
I look forward to working with all of you on this important agenda.
Professor Eeva Leinonen
President
Maynooth University
Fáilte an Uachtaráin
A chomhghleacaithe agus a mhic léinn, a chairde,
Cloch mhíle an-thábhachtach a bhí sa Ghradam Cré-Umha de chuid Athena SWAN a bronnadh ar Ollscoil Mhá Nuad sa bhliain 2018, chomh maith le haitheantas ar cé chomh tiomanta is atá pobal na hOllscoile do chur chun cinn an chomhionannais inscne. Ba í Ollscoil Mhá Nuad an chéad institiúid in Éirinn chun cur isteach air faoi leagan leathnaithe na cairte lena n-áirítear na hEalaíona, na Daonnachtaí agus na hEolaíochtaí Sóisialta mar dhisciplíní chomh maith le hEolaíocht, Teicneolaíocht, Innealtóireacht, Matamaitic agus Leigheas. Ní hamháin sin ach cuirtear trasnachas san áireamh freisin, ag glacadh leis go bhfuil roinnt mhaith toscaí ann a fhorluíodh ag amantaí le comhionannas inscne, mar aon leis na trasnuithe idir inscne, cine agus eitneacht.
I gcroílár iarratas Athena SWAN Ollscoil Mhá Nuad bhí Plean Gníomhaíochta cuimsitheach, a bhfuil Polasaí Comhionannais agus Éagsúlachta na hOllscoile mar bhunús aige. Tá an Plean Gníomhaíochta um Chomhionannas Inscne 2018-2022 de chuid Ollscoil Mhá Nuad tar éis bheith sínithe go dtí go mbeidh an próiseas athnuachana do Ghradam Cré-Umha Athena Swan críochnaithe sa bhliain 2023.
Tá dul chun cinn suntasach tar éis bheith déanta ar phríomhghníomhaíochtaí lena n-áirítear: an ceapachán de Leasuachtarán don Chomhionannas, don Éagsúlacht agus don Idirchultúrachas, an Dr Gemma Irvine agus an bunú den Oifig CÉI; an fhorbairt ar Pholasaí maidir le Feiniúlacht agus Léiriú Inscne a chludaíonn baill foirne agus mic léinn atá trasinscneach agus éagsúil ó thaobh na hinscne de; agus an fhorbairt ar Chlár Eolais Náisiúnta ar Chomhionannas Inscne do na hInstitiúidí Ardoideachais ag AIRO, a bhfuil Ollscoil Mhá Nuad mar óstach aige agus a fheidhmíonn mar acmhainn thábhachtach don earnáil.
Tá Gradaim Roinne Cré-Umha Athena SWAN bainte amach ag trí Roinn/Scoil déag de chuid Ollscoil Mhá Nuad: anuas ar an sé roinn agus dhá scoil i nDámh na n-Ealaíon, an Léinn Cheiltigh agus Fealsúnachta, tá Gradaim Roinne Chré-Umha bainte amach ag na ranna Ceimice, Síceolaíochta, Bitheolaíochta, Tíreolaíochta agus Dlí, agus tá tús curtha ag roinnt mhaith eile acu leis an anailís chriticiúil athmhachnamhach agus le próiseáil na n-iarratas. Is tráthúil an rud é go mbeidh ár n-athnuachan institiúide don Ghradam Cré-Umha Athena Swan ag teacht ag an am céanna leis an bhforbairt ar Plean Straitéiseach nua in Ollscoil Mhá Nuad. Tugann sé seo deis iontach dúinn chun ollscoil atá cothrom, éagsúil agus ionchuimsitheach a shamhlú agus straitéis fhorásach agus plean gníomhaíochta a fhorbairt chun é seo a bhaint amach.
Sa bhliain 2022, den chéad uair, tá riachtanas ar Institiúidí Ardoideachais Éireannacha a mbearna pháidh inscne a thuairisciú ag teacht leis an Acht um Fhaisnéis ar Bhearna Pháidh Inscne 2021. Tá sé tábhachtach le lua nach ionann an bhearna pháidh inscne agus idirdhealú páidh (m.sh. easnamh ar chomhphá don obair chéanna, rud atá i gcoinne an dlí i bPoblacht na hÉireann mar gheall ar reachtaíocht ar chomhphá ó 1975), ach is í an bhearna idir an méid a thuilltear ag fostaithe baineanna go léir san eagraíocht i gcomparáid leis an méid a thuilltear ag na fostaithe fireanna go léir san eagraíocht. Cé nach ionann sin agus idirdhealú páidh, tugann bearna le fios go bhfuil difríochtaí idir na rólanna a bhfuil ionadaíocht iontu ó mhná i gcomparáid le fir. Ní mór na bacainní nó claontaí a chiallaíonn go mbíonn bearna pháidh inscne ann a aithint agus obair ghníomhach a dhéanamh, tríd an obair thuasphléite agus tríd an bPlean Gníomhaíochta um Chomhionannas Inscne in Ollscoil Mhá Nuad, chun aghaidh a thabhairt orthu.
Táim ag súil le bheith ag obair libh go léir ar an ngnó tábhachtach seo.
An tOllamh Eeva Leinonen
Uachtarán Ollscoil Mhá Nuad
