Gender Discrimination in Third Level Institutions: Ireland, a Case Study
Join us for an Annie Macdonald Langstaff Workshop with Shivaun Quinlivan.
Abstract
In November 2014, the National University of Ireland was found to have discriminated against women on two separate occasions. The impact of these rulings was a union campaign within the National University of Ireland Galway pushing for gender equality within that institution, but also within the University sector more broadly. This campaign ultimately resulted in a Government appointed Expert Group “HEA National Review of Gender Equality in Irish Higher Education Institutions” who reported in June of this year. Amongst the more significant recommendations are that any new President or Vice President of an Irish University must be able to show demonstrable experience of advancing gender discrimination and the immediate introduction of mandatory quotas for academic promotion.
The focus of this talk is to provide a critical assessment of the initial cases, the campaign that followed and the resulting Higher Education Authorities recommendations.
About the speaker
Dr Shivaun Quinlivan is a lecturer at the School of Law, NUI Galway, where she teaches primarily in the area of Constitutional Law and Disability Law and Policy. She has worked with and for a range of statutory and other agencies in Ireland and Europe, including the Equality Authority, the National Council for Special Education, the Association of Higher Education Access and Disability, the Health Service Executive, as well as working on a number of European Commission funded projects.
The Workshops
Inaugurated in 1988 in honour of Annie MacDonald Langstaff, BCL 1914, the first woman to earn a law degree in Quebec, the workshops provide a forum for academics, judges, lawyers, and community activists to present scholarly research and practical insights on issues relating to women and the law.
