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Dr. Evelyn Mahon
Fellow Emeritus, Sch Office - Social Work & Social Policy

Biography

Dr Evelyn Mahon was educated at NUIG, the London School of Economics, and University of London. She Lectured at the University of Limerick until 1991 when she joined the Department of Sociology at TCD. Her early research interests and publications were in women's movements, gender equity in the workplace, and feminist theory.She was Director and co-Author of 'Women and Crisis Pregnancy (1998) the first study of abortion among Irish women ;Director of a HRB funded longitudinal study of couples undergoing infertility treatment in Ireland (2014) . In 2011, completed Post_Separation_Parenintg.pdf. (2011) a study of separation and divorce agreements made in the Family Law Circuit Courts funded by Office of the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs .She was Irish partner in FLOWS-eu a FP7 research project on the impact of local welfare systems on women's participation in the labour force (2010-2014) and is currently working on COST Action IS1409 on Gender and health impacts of policies extending working life in western countries (2015-2018)

Dr Mahon founded the M.Sc. in Applied Social Research in TCD in1997 and remained its Director until 2010. She also supervised many PH.D students. She retired as an Associate Professor in the School of Social Work and Social Policy in 2014 but remains a Fellow Emerita of the School.

Publications and Further Research Outputs

Peer-Reviewed Publications

S.Tappert and E.Mahon, "It is an individual choice":experiences of highly qualified stay-at- home mothers in Dublin , Revue suisse de travail social , 17, (1), 2015, p106 - 126 Journal Article, 2015

The Incomplete Revolution :Development of Childcare Policies in Ireland in, editor(s)D. Kutsar and M.Kuronen , Local Welfare Policy Making in European Cities , London, Springer International , 2015, pp149 - - 160, [Evelyn Mahon and Jemimah Bailey ] Book Chapter, 2015 DOI

Evelyn Mahon and Noelle Cotter , Assisted reproductive technology- IVF treatment in Ireland: A study of couples with successful outcomes , Human Fertility , Vol 17, (3 ), 2014, p165 - 169 Journal Article, 2014

Mahon Evelyn and Elena Moore, Post-Separation Parenting , Dublin , Government Publicatations , Jan , 2011, 1, 90 Report, 2011 DOI

Abortion Debates in Ireland: An Ongoing Issue in, editor(s)Dorothy McBride Stetson , Abortion Politics, Women's Movements, and the Democratic State, 2001, [Mahon, E.] Book Chapter, 2001

Mahon, E., Early School Leaving and Educational Disadvantage in a Small Town, Dept. of Education, 1998 Report, 1998

Mahon, E., The Educational and Training Provision for Teenage Mothers in Europe: The Irish National Report, LEONARDO DA VINCI, European Commission, 1998 Report, 1998

Mahon, E, C.Conlon and L.Dillon , Women and Crisis Pregnancy in Ireland , Dublin , Dept of Health , 1998 Report, 1998

Mahon, E, C.Conlon and L.Dillon , Women and Crisis Pregnancy in Ireland , Dublin , Dept of Health , 1998 Report, 1998

State feminism in the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland in, editor(s)Y. Galligan, E.Ward and R.Wilford , Women and Politics in Ireland, 1998, [Mahon, E., Morgan V.] Book Chapter, 1998

Class, mothers and equal opportunities to work in, editor(s)E. Drew, R. Emerek and E. Mahon , Women, Work and the Family in Europe, London and New York, Routledge, 1998, pp170 - 181, [Mahon, E.] Book Chapter, 1998

Introduction in, editor(s)E. Drew, R. Emerek and E. Mahon , Work and the Family in Europe, London and New York, Routledge, 1998, pp1 - 8, [E. Drew, R. Emerek and E. Mahon] Book Chapter, 1998

Changing gender roles, state, work and family lives in, editor(s)E. Drew, R. Emerek and E. Mahon , Women, Work and the Family in Europe, London and New York, Routledge, 1998, pp153 - 158, [Mahon, E.] Book Chapter, 1998

Mahon, E., Women in Administration in Local Government, 1997 Report, 1997

The Development of a Women's Health Policy, 1947-97 in, editor(s)J.Robins , Reflections on Health, Dublin, Institute of Public Administration, 1997, pp77 - 96, [Mahon, E.] Book Chapter, 1997

Women's Rights and Catholicism in Ireland in, editor(s)M. Threlfall , Mapping the Women's Movement: Feminist Politics and Social Transformation in the North, London, Verso, 1996, pp184 - 215, [Mahon, E.] Book Chapter, 1996

Dillon L., Mahon, E., Women in Management in Local Administration, published as Second Report of the Fourth Joint Committee on Women's Rights, Dublin, Stationery Office, 1996 Report, 1996

Mahon, E., Contratos de genero y politicas de cohesion social, Politica Sociedad, 19, 1995, p61 - 74 Journal Article, 1995

MAHON, E, IRELAND - A PRIVATE PATRIARCHY, ENVIRONMENT AND PLANNING A, 26, 1994, p1277 - 1296 Journal Article, 1994

Mahon, E., Feminist Research: a Reply to Lentin, Irish Journal of Sociology, 4, 1994, p165 - 169 Journal Article, 1994

Mahon, E., Conlon C., Legal abortions carried out in England on women normally resident in the Republic of Ireland. Appendix 22 of The Report of the Constitution Review Group, Dublin, Stationery Office, 1994 Report, 1994

L'acces des femmes au marche du travail. Le cas irlandais in, Les Cahiers du Grif: Les Femmes et la Construction Européenne, Paris, Grace, 1994, pp141 - 150, [Mahon, E.] Book Chapter, 1994

From Democracy to Femocracy: The Women's Movement in the Republic of Ireland in, editor(s)P. Clancy, S. Drudy, K. Lynch and L. O'Dowd , Ireland: A Sociological Profile, Dublin, Institute of Public Administratio, 1993, pp675 - 678, [Mahon, E.] Book Chapter, 1993

Ireland's Policy Machinery: The Ministry of State for Women's Affairs and the Joint Oireachtas Committee for Women's Rights in, editor(s)A. Mazur and D. Stetson McBride , Comparative State Feminism, London, Sage, 1993, pp132 - 149, [Mahon, E.] Book Chapter, 1993

Gender Equity in the Irish Civil Service in, editor(s)E. Meehan & S. Sevenhuijsen , Equality, Politics and Gender, London, Sage, 1991, pp154 - 174, [Mahon, E.] Book Chapter, 1991

Mahon, E., Motherhood, Work and Equal Opportunities: A case study of Irish Civil Servants, 1991 Report, 1991

Mahon, E., Equal Opportunities in the Irish Civil Service: An Interim Review, Equal Opportunities International, 10, (2), 1991, p1 - 10 Journal Article, 1991

Mahon, E., Motherhood, work and equal opportunities: a case study of Irish Civil servants, First report of the Third Joint Committee on Women's Rights, Dublin, Stationery Office, 1991 Report, 1991

Die Moderne Irische Frauenbewegung in, Frauenbewegungen in der Welt, Band 1, Berlin, Argument-Verlag, 1988, pp131 - 147, [Mahon, E.] Book Chapter, 1988

Mahon, E., Women Academics in Ireland, Sociological Association of Ireland Bulletin, 52, 1988, p1 - 3 Journal Article, 1988

Mahon, E., Motherhood and Withdrawal from the Labour Force: Women on Career Breaks, Women's Studies Review, Women's Studies Association of Ireland, 2, 1988, p33 - 42 Journal Article, 1988

Mahon, E., Women's Rights and Catholicism in Ireland, New Left Review, 166, 1987, p53 - 77 Journal Article, 1987

"Women Academics Internationally", & "Positive Action Programme" in, Women Academics in Ireland, Dublin, Higher Education Authority, 1987, pp33 - 37, [Mahon, E.] Book Chapter, 1987

Mahon, E., Gender and Education, Social Studies, 9, (1/2), 1986, p69 - 77 Journal Article, 1986

Mahon, E., When is a Difference not a Difference?, British Journal of Sociology, 36, (1), 1985, p73 - 76 Journal Article, 1985

E. Mahon, S. Leigh Doyle and D. McDevitt, Voluntary Social Services in Ireland: A Case Study. Combat Poverty Agency 1975, Dublin, National Committee on Pilot Schemes to Combat Poverty, 1978 Book, 1978

Mahon, E., Drew E., Emerek R., Families, labour Markets and Gender Roles: A Report on a European Workshop, Dublin, European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions Report,

Evelyn Mahon , European Policy Brief , FP7 Flows policy briefs , www.flow-eu , april 2014, 1-7 Report,

Non-Peer-Reviewed Publications

Evelyn Mahon, Catherine Conlon, Lucy Dillon, Women and crisis pregnancy : a report presented to the Department of Health and Children, Dublin, Stationery Office, 1998, 565pp Book, 1998 TARA - Full Text

Mahon, E., Conlon C., Dillon L., Women and Crisis Pregnancy, Dublin, Stationery Office, 1998 Book, 1998

Mahon, E., Drew E., Emerek R., Women, Work and the Family in Europe, Routledge, 1998 Book, 1998

Mahon, E., Tovey H., Peillon M., Oscail foundation course: Introduction to Irish Society, DCU, Oscail, 1995 Book, 1995

Mahon, E., Gender Contracts and Social Cohesion Policies, Gender and the Use of Time: European Forum 1994-1995, Florence: European University Institute, 1994, pp1 - 21 Conference Paper, 1994

Mahon, E., The Barriers and Difficulties Women Experience in Getting to the Decision-Making Level, From Participation to Partnership, Dublin: Council for the Status of Women, 1991, pp16 - 23 Conference Paper, 1991

Mahon, E., Motherhood and a Career Break, Proceedings of the British Psychological Association Women and Work Conference, London: P - 1988 Conference Paper, 1988

Research Expertise

Description

FUNDED POLICY ORIENTATED RESEARCH I am an active researcher and have been highly successful in obtaining research funds through competitive tenders. Since 1995, I have generated almost £550,000 of research funding from both EU funding and government funding. The largest and most important of these was £220,000 for a research project on WOMEN AND CRISIS PREGNANCY. The report Women and Crisis Pregnancy was published by the department of Health and was covered extensively by the media, regularly referred to as 'the Trinity report'. This was my greatest research challenge to date and I was very pleased with its reception. It also led to the establishment of the Crisis Pregnancy Agency. ACADEMIC CONTRIBUTION TO EXTERNAL COMMITTEES: I was an assessor for the Humanities and Social Research Councils Scholarship scheme. I served on the Epidemiology, Health of the Population and Primary Care Committee of the Health Research Board. I am a member of the Department of Education's Gender Equality Unit's Research Committee, Chairperson of the Research Committee of the Homeless Agency, a member of the Committee of the National Social Work Qualification Board. At the invitation of HRB, I made a critical response to their policy document Making Knowledge Work for Health, at a national conference on health strategies in Dublin Castle. INVITED KEYNOTE SPEAKER: I have been an invited keynote speaker at conferences organised by the following: Women in Management in the Civil Service Network; Network Ireland, The National Women's Council, The Health Research Board, Irish Medical Organisation. CONFERENCES PAPERS: Since the publication of the Women and Crisis Pregnancy study, I have addressed the annual conferences of CURA and LIFE; a conference on teenage pregnancies organised by the South Eastern Health Board and a North-South conference on Policies for Lone Parent. INTERNATIONAL REPUTATION: I am well known internationally and was the only Irish academic asked to convene a session at the European Sociological Association conference in 1996 in Essex. I was also an invited discussant to the session organised by Research Committee 19 of the 14th world Congress of Sociology on Poverty, Social Welfare and Social Policy which took place on Friday July 31st 1998 in Montreal. The theme of the session was "A new division of Labour: Family Policy, Work and Care in Different Welfare Systems." I have chaired a session on Comparative Policy Research at the American Political Science Association conference in September 1998. This is part of my on-going work with the Research Network on Gender, Politics and the State (RNGS). We have already produced an edited collection entitled Comparative State Feminism (1995), and further publications are in press.

Projects

  • Title
    • The Impact of local welfare systems on female labour force participation (FLOWS0
  • Summary
    • The aim of the project was to explore the impact of local welfare systems including childcare and eldercare services on women's participation in the labour force in 11 Europeand cities. it examined local policy making processes and their impact on women's decision making in relation to employment
  • Funding Agency
    • Euopean Commission
  • Date From
    • Jan 1011
  • Date To
    • April 2014
  • Title
    • Infertility in Ireland
  • Summary
    • This is a longitudinal study of couples undergoing fertility treatment. The researcher is Noelle Cotter.
  • Funding Agency
    • Health Research Board
  • Date From
    • 2005
  • Date To
    • 2008
  • Title
    • Education and Training Provision for Teenage Mothers
  • Summary
    • Part of a team led by Dr. N. Dawsonp.
  • Funding Agency
    • LEONARDO
  • Date From
    • 1997
  • Date To
    • 2000
  • Title
    • Consultant to the EU Commission
  • Summary
    • Completed a national evaluation of "Women's Participation in European Social Funded" training for DGV.
  • Date From
    • 1991
  • Date To
    • 1991
  • Title
    • Pathways to and Effects of Methadone Maintenance in Dublin City
  • Funding Agency
    • Forbairt
  • Title
    • Early School Leavers and Educational Disadvantage in a Small Town
  • Summary
    • An evaluation of a community based health centre service and an evaluation of a GP skills training initiative funded by the Irish College of General Practitioners.
  • Funding Agency
    • Department of Education
  • Title
    • Post-Separation Parenting- A study of parent-child contact agreements
  • Summary
    • The aim of the study is to classify contact arrangements between parents and their children as agreed in family law courts.
  • Funding Agency
    • Office of the Minister for Children
  • Date From
    • october 2006
  • Date To
    • december 2007

Keywords

Abortion; Assisted Reproduction; Changing Fathers; Children's Rights; Divorce & Separation; Divorce and new family formations ; Families & Social Change; Lone Mothers & Welfare; Women & Employment

Recognition

Representations

CONVENOR, "Gender Inequality and the European Regions", European Science Foundation, Trinity College in July 3-6th. 1997. The programme included sessions on male violence; gender and cultural representation and changing gender identities and sexualities. 1997

CONVENOR, "New Forms of Patriarchy", European Sociological Association, University of Essex, 27-30 August. 1997

Member of the European Science Foundation funded Network on "Gender Inequalities in the Regions." 1996-Present

Research Network on Gender, Politics and the State (RNGS), convenors are Prof. D.Stetson -McBride and Prof. A.Mazur (USA) 1994-Present

JOINT CONVENOR of "Workshop on Families, Labour Markets and Gender Roles", (with E. Drew and R. Emerek) funded by the European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions. 1994

Chairwoman of the European Association of Women Political Scientists. 1989-91

Consultant [with Dearbhal Ní Cheartaigh] to the Educational Department, RTE, for their series on Women's Studies. 1988-89

Irish representative on the Council of Europe's European Network for Women's Studies. 1987-92

EXECUTIVE MEMBER/CHAIR, SOCIOLOGICAL ASSOCIATION OF IRELAND. For the year 1987-88, I was chairperson of the editorial board of the quarterly bulletin of the Association and produced four issues during that period. 1987-89

WOMEN'S STUDIES ASSOCIATION OF IRELAND. I was a founding member and former secretary of the Women's Studies Association of Ireland. I was chairperson of the Limerick branch from 1987-88 and one of three editors of the Women's Studies Review. 1987-88

THIRD INTERNATIONAL INTERDISCIPLINARY CONGRESS. I was a member of the Scientific Council for the Third International Interdisciplinary Congress on Women held in Trinity College Dublin in July 1987. 1987

Member of a working group on the Commission on Assisted Human Reproduction.

Awards and Honours

Fellow of Trinity College Dublin 2003

Berkeley Scholar, Trinity College, Dublin. 2000

Visiting Fellow, J.F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard. 1999

Awarded an ERASMUS travel grant in Women's Studies to investigate the development of Women's Studies in the Netherlands, Greece and Britain and to initiate plans for student mobility. 1990

Memberships

Member of European Sociological Association

Member of WISE, European Women's Studies Association

Member of the British Sociological Association