Athena Swan Institutional Silver Application Consultation
Overview
To prepare for the Athena SWAN institutional silver application, which included the creation of a five-year Gender Equality Action Plan for 2024–2029, active participation from the UCD community was crucial. This involvement ensured the development of a robust gender equality action plan and helped identify and address existing gaps. Although the Athena SWAN process and action plan continue to focus on gender equality, the updated Athena SWAN Charter now encompasses a broader range of EDI (Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion) aspects, including all equality grounds and intersectionality. To learn more about the revised Athena SWAN Charter, please click here.
Employee Consultation
Employees of all genders and across all equality grounds were invited to consultation events. It was essential for individuals from all genders, equality grounds, and staff categories to participate in order to ensure that the 2024-2029 action plan for the University is as inclusive as possible. The consultation was conducted through three World Café-style events, which allowed employees to provide open and honest feedback on emerging themes related to existing gaps and to share their ideas on how the University can effectively address these issues.
Consultation Breakdown:
- All Employees
- Student-facing Employees (focused on views from employees who work directly with students)
- College Administrative Employees (who would normally not have the opportunity to give feedback into School or Unit Athena SWAN processes as they fall outside of these structures)
Purpose of Consultation
- To provide an update on key findings from data analysis and key emerging themes
- To do a deeper dive into key emerging themes to identify gaps and solutions
- Support the development of the 2024-2029 Gender Equality Action Plan
- Inclusive recruitment
- Faculty Promotions including experiences with current framework and supports
- PMS Promotion and Career development
- Career development challenges and opportunities
- Workload Allocation and Management for Faculty and Staff – transparency, fairness, job families
- University Orientation and local level induction
- Career Development including P4G framework
- Leaves/Supports such as Family and Carers
- Flexible Working
- Dignity and Respect
- Transgender and Gender Identity and Expression
- Anti-Racism and Cultural Awareness (intersectionality with gender)