Gender Equality Enhancement Fund

Following the first round of funding under the Gender Equality Enhancement Fund 2023, the Second Call of the Gender Equality Enhancement Fund 2023 opened on the 11^th of September. The closing date for applications was noon on the 31^st of October 2023.

The First Call of the Gender Equality Enhancement Fund 2023 opened on the 10^th of March and the closing date for applications was the 31^st of May 2023.

Higher Education Institutions were invited to submit proposals to the HEA through the Application Form and in line with the requirements set out in the Call for Applications. Proposals were submitted to the HEA by email to EDI@hea.ie.

The outcome of the Second Call of the Gender Equality Enhancement Fund 2023 was announced on the 1st December 2023.

Details of the funded projects are included below.

To date, the HEA has awarded funding of €1,031,459 under the Gender Equality Enhancement Fund to advance gender equality initiatives in Irish higher education.

Awards were made across three areas:

• research on or advancing gender equality initiatives in Ireland;
• training programmes specifically addressing gender equality;
• Athena SWAN capacity-building activities.

Projects were funded across several areas which include the below:

• the promotion of female role models in the physical sciences, technology, engineering and mathematics (pSTEM);
• development and implementation of gender identity, expression and diversity training for staff in Irish HEIs;
• establishment of networks to support female participation in computer science;
• resources to support the academic advancement of mid-career female staff;
• provision of gender equality-based leadership training to future leaders;
• development of resources to assist departments in modelling gender-disaggregated data against national trends;
• embedding equality, diversity and inclusion into the curriculum;
• teaching and learning and teacher education;
• an investigation of how gender stereotypes contribute to gender inequality;
• support for the increased visibility and participation of women economists in public discourse;
• research into the impact of menopause on the careers of women in Irish higher education;
• addressing the Gender Pay Gap;
• investigating the gender dimension in computing research;
• engaging men in building gender equality;
• exploration of the systemic factors at post-primary and higher education level that contribute to gender representation in Language Studies; analysis of the nature of change and transformation with respect to gender equality, inclusion, and diversity across higher education;
• an open and free of charge Equality Charter Symposium;
• development of a Leadership Development Programme for the Technological HE sector;
• examine the efficacy of leadership development programmes;
• a reverse mentoring programme;
• national gender equality network for Chemistry;
• training and learning network for early career female researchers and academics;
• Athena Swan support and training.

• Gender Equality Enhancement Fund - 2020 Projects

  Mid-Career Development Programme for Women – DCU, DkIT and University of Galway

  Irish Network for Gender Equality in Computing (INGENIC): The Collective Voice for Gender Equality in Computing – IADT, GMIT and MU

  The development and implementation of a Gender Identity, Expression & Diversity Training Programme for staff in Irish HEIs – Carlow College, IT Carlow, LIT, MIC and WIT

  Supporting Athena SWAN in the Mathematical Sciences: Benchmarking and Networking – DCU, University of Galway, UCC, UCD and UL

  LIBRA – Future Proofing Gender Equality in Higher Education Institutions – Experiential Learning in Simulation for Students Leaders – RCSI, TU Dublin and UCC

  TechMate: A best practice toolkit for driving sustainable acceleration towards gender equality in technology disciplines in HEIs – IT Carlow, MU, TU Dublin and UCD

  You can be what you can see: pSTEM Role Models – IT Sligo, TU Dublin and UCD

  Preparing for Academic Advancement (PAA) – MU, University of Galway and UL

• Gender Equality Enhancement Fund - 2021 Projects

  Increasing the voice of women economists in the media and public discourse through training and promotion – TU Dublin, TCD, UCC, UCD and UL

  Getting ahead versus getting along: Investigating how gender stereotypes are contributing to gender inequality in HEIs – DCU, TU Dublin and UL

  Embedding Gender Identity, Expression & Diversity Training and Best Practice into Irish HEIs – AIT, Carlow College, IT Carlow, LIT, MIC, and WIT

  Embedding Equality Diversity & Inclusion in the Curriculum of the new Technological University Sector: EDIT Project – ATU, MTU, SETU and TUS

  Integrating the gender dimension into teaching, learning and educational outreach in initial teacher education – DCU, IT Sligo, MIC, MU, and TCD

  Working Women and the Menopause: a study of the impact of the menopause on careers of a sample of women working in the HEI sector in Ireland – IADT, IT Sligo and TU Dublin

  Preparing for Academic Advancement (PAA) – DCU, MU, University of Galway, TCD, UCC, and UCD and UL

• Gender Equality Enhancement Fund - 2022 Projects

  Edited Academic Publication entitled ‘Transforming Gender Equality and Inclusion within Higher Education in Ireland – Contemporary Perspectives’ – MIC, TCD, University of Galway, and UL

  Gender Equality in Language Studies (GELS) – DCU, MTU, MU and UL

  Engaging men in building gender equality – the development of a pilot programme in Irish HEIs – DkIT, IADT, MIC, MTU, MU, NCI, University of Galway, RCSI, TUS, UCC, UCD and UL

  Addressing the Gender Pay Gap in Irish Higher Education – MIC, TCD, UCD, University of Galway and UL

  INDICATOR: Investigating the Gender Dimension in Computing Research across the Irish HEI sector – ATU, DkIT, SETU, TCD and TU Dublin

  Equality Charters Symposium Ireland – aiming higher, moving forward together – TCD, TU Dublin, University of Galway and UCD

• Gender Equality Enhancement Fund - 2023 Projects

  Enabling Gender Equality during Transformational Change: a leadership programme for the Technological Higher Education Sector – ATU, DKIT, IADT, MTU, SETU, TU Dublin and TUS

  Stronger together? Evaluation of single gender vs mixed leadership development programmes in Higher Education Institutions – DCU, TU Dublin,  UCC, University of Galway and UL

• Second Call of the Gender Equality Enhancement Fund - 2023 Projects

  ENGAGE: Empowering New Generations, Advancing Gender Equality through Reverse Mentoring in Higher Education – MTU, UCC, University of Galway, UL

  Athena Swan Support and Bespoke Training for Smaller HEIs – Carlow College, MIC, NCAD, NCI

  The Chemistry of Equality – All Ireland Network for Gender Equality in Chemistry – DCU, MU, MTU, TU Dublin, RCSI, TCD, UCC, UCD, University of Galway, UL

  Promote: Developing, Promoting and Implementing a Career Progression Training Platform & Network for Early Career Female Researchers-Academics (ECFRAs) across Irish HEIs – DCU, MU, MTU, SETU, UCC, University of Galway, UL

*lead applicants are indicated in bold.