Accelerate Action
'Accelerate Action' calls for urgent steps toward gender equality. It is interesting to note that the IWD 2025 website quotes data from the World Economic Forum which highlights the projection that, at the current rate of progress, it will take?until 2158 to reach full gender parity globally.
I remember contributing to an analysis about 10 years ago, in preparing Equality Monitoring data for a university governing authority, where we projected that gender balance in the professoriate wouldn't happen until 2098. This was the reality back then for Irish higher education. Fortunately, steps were underway by 2014/15 to shift gears from monitoring and compliance to more proactive and strategically focused efforts to advance equality.?
A key moment was the introduction of the Athena Swan charter to Ireland, supported by the Higher Education Authority (HEA). The charter focuses on evidence-based analysis, action planning, and structured implementation, accelerating progress across the sector.
Starting with two pioneering awards in 2015 (at Trinity College Dublin and the University of Limerick) by the 10-year anniversary of the Athena Swan Charter in Ireland, 19 institutions had earned Athena Swan Awards.
Between 2016 and 2022, 100% of executive teams and governing authorities became gender balanced, and the female percentage of full professors rose from 19% to 31%. In addition, in our seven IUA member universities, the number of female university presidents rose from none in 2020 to three today.
The gender statistic for the professoriate is a reminder that there is still plenty of work to be done, and our universities are actively engaged in that work.
In honour of International Women’s Day, we’re highlighting some of the ways they’re?accelerating action?towards gender equality. Stay tuned to see how, as we highlight these efforts in the coming days!