The Department of Biology was proud to receive an Athena Swan Bronze Department Award in 2018.
This award recognises our progress on, and our commitment to, gender equality, inclusivity, and diversity and for providing opportunities for all staff and students in a supportive environment. Our action plan aims to improve our culture and our environment for research and teaching, scholarship and learning, student diversity, recruitment, retention and promotion.
The Athena Swan charter is a framework that is used across the globe to support and transform gender equality in higher education and research. The charter launched in Ireland in 2015 with a specific remit to encourage and recognise commitment to advancing the careers of women in Science, Technology, Engineering, Maths and Medicine (STEMM) employment. The charter has since been expanded to include Arts, Humanities, Social Sciences, Business and Law (AHSSBL) and staff working in professional, managerial and support roles (PMSS). The charter framework expanded to recognise work undertaken to address gender equality more broadly, including the under representation of men where appropriate, and not just barriers to progression that affect women. Intersectionality is a key principle of the expanded charter, in particular the intersection of gender and ethnicity.
A new charter unique to Ireland was introduced in 2021 which aims to support higher education institutions in impactful and sustainable gender equality work. The new Ireland charter also supports higher education institutions to build capacity for evidence-based equality work across the equality grounds enshrined in Irish legislation. For more information on Athena Swan in Ireland, visit the Advance HE website.
For more information on Athena Swan at Maynooth University, visit the EDI Office webpage Athena Swan at Maynooth University
View the Maynooth University Gender Equality Action Plan (2018-2022) here
For further information on the Department's Bronze Action plan see Biology Bronze Action Plan
Prof. Kim E. Barrett, UC Davis, giving the inaugural Phyllis Clinch ‘Women in Science’ Lecture, 14th March 2022
The Biology Athena Swan Committee:
| Kirti Achanta | Undergraduate Member |
| Courteney Tunstead | PhD Member |
| Deirdre Daly | ATP Member |
| Dr Joanne Masterson | Academic Member |
| Dr Paul Dowling | Academic Member |
| Dr. Ailbe Brazel | Postdoctoral Member |
| Dr. Mark Robinson | Chairperson |
| Dr. Rob Leigh | Postdoctoral Member |
| Frances Tinley | ATP Member |
| Gavin Fanning | Undergraduate Member |
| Gemma Lynch | ATP Member |
| Jamie Casey | PhD Member |
| Lauren Flynn | PhD Member |
| Louis McCabe | Undergraduate Member |
| Omar Abdelrahman | PhD Member |
| Prof. Bernard Mahon | Academic Member |
| Prof. Karen English | Academic Member |
| Rebecca Owens | Academic Member |
| Tina Sidoli O'Connor | ATP Member |
Supports for Staff and Students
Supports for Staff
Please use this link to find information on maternity leave, sick leave, parental leave, compassionate leave, sabbaticals, promotions and much more.
Supports for Students
Dr Mark Robinson, Chair of the Athena Swan Committee,
Email: mark.robinson@mu.ie