The Law School and Athena Swan
The School of Law has a proud and distinguished tradition of advancing gender equality within Irish society. In 2024, the School received its Athena Swan Bronze Renewal Award, having first achieved the Bronze Award in 2020. This recognition places the School among the first Law Schools in Ireland to attain Athena Swan accreditation, reflecting our ongoing commitment to fostering equality, diversity, and inclusion across all aspects of our teaching, research, and community engagement.
(Photos: L to R - Averil Deverell, Frances E Moran, Frances Kyle)
Law School is awarded Athena SWAN Bronze Award
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The Athena Swan Award is an internationally recognized accreditation that celebrates and promotes gender equality and broader equity, diversity, and inclusion (EDI) in higher education and research institutions.
Gender Equality and the School of Law
Dr. Frances Moran was appointed Reid Professor of Criminal Law in 1925 and Regius Professor of Laws in 1934 and was the first woman law professor and Senior Counsel in Ireland. Trinity College Dublin’s Law School staff published the first and only study on gender in the Irish legal professions in 2003 (Bacik, Ivana, Costello, Cathryn & Drew, Eileen, Gender InJustice). Two of Ireland’s women Presidents both served as academic staff; Mary Robinson and Mary McAleese have been powerful role models and advocates for gender equality. Our academic staff has a balanced representation of women and men, and women have strong representation at the higher levels; 55% (8) of our Professors are held by women.
We have a long tradition of supporting social change through research, teaching and civic engagement. This remains central to the School ethos, aligning with the commitment in Trinity’s Strategic Plan (2020-2025) to ‘courageously advance the cause of a pluralistic, just and sustainable society.’
Our commitment to promoting gender equality would lack credibility if it were not firmly grounded in our internal practices and culture. We also recognise the ongoing risk of complacency; gender equality cannot be assumed to be fully embedded in all aspects of our work.
Key Priorities for our Gender Action Plan (2023 / Bronze Renewal 2024)
Our Action plan is divided into issues and into segments of our School Community: Athena Swan Reporting, General Issues of Community and Culture, All Staff, Academic Staff, Professional Staff, and Students. Our Key Priorities are set out below.
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Formalise Athena Swan review and reporting
Our first priority action is to formalise our departmental Athena Swan reporting and review structures. The EDI Committee has a broad remit and therefore an additional structure is required to formalise Athena Swan review.
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Further Embed EDI structures in the School
Our second priority is to further embed EDI structures in the Law School. These are a gateway to rolling out gender-promoting activities. This will include attempting to increase the spread of representation across the student body, building EDI into the design of a new Law School Building, and directed at increasing visibility of diversity in School student body. We will establish a new role of social liaison to ensure inclusive social events.
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Increase Support for Staff Career Development
A major finding was that female academic staff feel far less supported in career development than their male colleagues. To address this we will implement career development supports for all staff, and for female academic staff specifically.
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Enhance supports for students with caring responsibilities and those under particular financial strain
The data demonstrate that a substantial number of students have caring responsibilities. In addition, the data show that by far the most significant EDI issue for students is socioeconomic difference/disadvantage. We are conscious of the intersectional nature of gender and socioeconomic disadvantage, and the fact that those with caring responsibilities may be the students from less affluent backgrounds. As such, a priority is supporting students with caring responsibilities and particular financial strains, while ensuring that they partake fully in College life.
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Further formalise and enhance supports for staff members returning from maternity and carers leave
One priority action from the GAP 2020, which was commended in the 2020 Feedback, was: “Use the School’s own resources to offer returners a reduced workload in the first semester post-return; potentially through the introduction of mechanisms like ‘no-teaching’ terms, pending any change at University-wide level; and put in place a formal system of ‘keep-in-touch opportunities’ for those on leave.” Reduced workload and keeping-in-touch was implemented on an informal basis, and we are now going to establish a formal mechanism for this whereby the HoS and the EDI Director meet the person before they go on leave, before they return from leave and after return from leave. The pre-leave meeting will also be used to discuss whether the person wishes to avail of a “keep-in-touch” opportunity, and if so to plan for this. We are conscious that not all staff will want to avail of a keep-in-touch opportunity.
The Self-Assessment Team 2020 application (SAT)
Establishment of a Director of Equality, Diversity and Inclusion
Arising out of our successful Athena Swan 2020 application, the School established a new role of Director of Equality, Diversity and Inclusion. The Director oversees the implementation of the gender action plan arising from the Athena Swan application and champions all EDI matters in the School.