Three Trinity Schools achieve Athena SWAN Bronze Awards

Posted on: 30 November 2022

Trinity College Dublin's School of English, School of Religion, Theology and Peace Studies and School of Medicine have recently been conferred with Athena SWAN Bronze awards at an award ceremony in Atlantic Technological University in Mayo.

Three Trinity Schools achieve Athena SWAN Bronze Awards

Trinity College Dublin's School of English, School of Religion, Theology and Peace Studies and School of Medicine have recently been conferred with Athena SWAN Bronze awards at a ceremony in Atlantic Technological University in Mayo. Guests were welcomed from 13 higher education institutions from across Ireland to celebrate 32 awards. Bronze award holders are recognised for their in-depth self-assessment focused on gender equality and commitment to the resultant action plan.

Sarah Fink, Head of Athena Swan Ireland at Advance HE, said on the day, “It is wonderful to celebrate these awards at ATU. Today is an opportunity to recognise the diverse range of good practice to progress equality in our higher education institutions. Achieving an Athena Swan Ireland award is a lot of work, and this ceremony highlights the dedication of staff and students from across the country.” ​​​​​​​

Welcoming this news Professor Lorraine Leeson, Associate Vice Provost for Equality, Diversity & Inclusion, Trinity College Dublin said:

“We are delighted to see this great outcome for the School of English, the School of Religion, Theology and Peace Studies and the School of Medicine. These new School awards are the result of the substantial work put in over an extended period of time by the Schools’ Athena SWAN Self-Assessment Teams, School Athena SWAN Champions, and would not be possible without support from School colleagues and leadership from Heads of School. Many congratulations to everyone in the Schools on this fantastic achievement.”

Reflecting on the application process and gaining an award, Professor Linda Hogan, School of Religion, Theology and Peace Studies Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Champion, Trinity College Dublin said: “Our School already had a deep commitment to equality, diversity and inclusion, but the Athena SWAN process allowed us to understand the gender dynamics and challenges in our School as never before - and plan a way towards a more inclusive community."

Head of School of English at Trinity, Professor Jarlath Killeen commented: “The School of English is delighted with the success of its first application for an Athena SWAN Bronze award. The success is a clear reflection of the hard work of the assessment panel, our Athena SWAN Champions, and all our staff and students, and marks the importance of promoting equality within the School.”

Professor Colin P Doherty, Head of School, School of Medicine said: "The School of Medicine is honoured to have been conferred with Athena SWAN Bronze awards at the recent ceremony at the Technological University in Mayo. Our commitment to gender equality is something that we are extremely proud of and we are delighted that this has been recognised with the Bronze Award. I would like to thank all staff in school in particular our Athena SWAN champions who helped us through the rigorous process of selection."

Trinity now has 17 Schools with Bronze awards. For more information visit: https://www.tcd.ie/equality/athena-swan/

For more information on the Athena SWAN Ireland Charter click here.

Media Contact:

Joanne Carroll | Internal Communications Officer | joanne.carroll@tcd.ie | +353 86 136 8036