Response to Public Consultation on Reform of Higher Education Authority Bill

2021

Submission from Women in Research Ireland (RCN:20200957)

Women in Research Ireland (WIRI) is a registered charity based in Dublin and a group member  of the National Women’s Council of Ireland. WIRI’s vision is to achieve equitable representation for women and minority groups in Irish higher education. WIRI’s mission is to unite and build an empowering diverse and inclusive community of underrepresented groups where all voices are heard in academic spaces. The WIRI committee welcomes the opportunity to provide a submission on the pre-legislative scrutiny of the General Scheme of the Higher Education Authority Bill, 2021. 

1. Addressing the needs of staff in Higher Education

It is essential that the legislation directly addresses the importance of the needs of all staff in higher education in particular women and minority groups. The detrimental and disproportionate effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on the academic careers of women and minorities across the world are widely reported particularly for those with caring responsibilities (Deryugina et al. 2021). There is an urgent need to mitigate this damaging effect on the career progression of women and others who have been most adversely effected.

In Irish Higher Education Institutions, those on part-time temporary contracts are predominantly women. The Higher Education Authority Higher Education Institutional Staff by Gender Report highlights that in 2019, 26% of professor posts were filled by women as compared to 74% held by men. 52% of academics on full-time temporary contracts were female, while 71% of those on part-time temporary contracts were female. There is an urgent need for better career training and supports for staff on precarious temporary contracts (postdoctoral researchers, research fellows, teaching fellows). While the focus on student success is correctly a central focus of the General Scheme, we recommend that supports for staff success feature more strongly in the General Scheme (in Objects and General Functions of An tÚdarás).

2. Equality, diversity and inclusion for staff in Higher Education

The ethos of Women in Research Ireland is that equity and diversity creates a positive impact  in Higher Education and furthers the enhancement of science, health-care and the wider society. To advance equality, diversity and inclusion in Irish Higher Education, issues such as workplace bullying, harassment, unfair management and an inadequate complaints system need to be explicitly addressed. There is a need for suitable mechanisms for gathering feedback on staff issues relating to the theme of equality, diversity and inclusion. We strongly recommended that a focus on equality, diversity and inclusion supports for staff in Higher Education features prominently within the upcoming General Scheme. We would be happy to engage further on any aspect of this submission. Further detail on 

Women in Research Ireland can be accessed at www.womeninresearch.ie.

References

Deryugina, T., Shurchkov, O., & Stearns, J. E. (2021). COVID-19 Disruptions Disproportionately  Affect Female Academics (Working Paper No. 28360; Working Paper Series). National Bureau of Economic Research. https://doi.org/10.3386/w28360