Letterkenny Institute of Technology (LYIT) is delighted to celebrate the first Athena SWAN Bronze award for the Institute following a successful application last March.
Athena SWAN awards recognise the advancement of gender equality in higher education.
LYIT now joins other Higher Education Institutions (HEI’s) including CUA partners GMIT and IT Sligo with this prestigious accreditation. Members of LYIT’s Athena SWAN working group joined Simon Harris, Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science at the virtual ceremony earlier this week.
The Institute is extremely proud of this award in the year that it also celebrates 50 years in Higher Education. LYIT is committed to creating a culture in which staff and students work in partnership to create and maintain an inclusive learning and working environment.
In welcoming the award, Paul Hannigan, President of LYIT stated; “This is a really important achievement for LYIT staff and students. A huge amount of work has gone in to achieving this award and it is great credit to everyone involved. LYIT is also the first Institute to achieve the Bronze Award for all staff within the Institute as the charter covers academic, professional management and support services”.
The Institutes Gender Action Plan is focused on developing positive action mentoring and development schemes to support a higher proportion of women to progress into senior and leadership roles. It aims to provide staff development for all academic, professional management and support services which supports equality of opportunity, respect for diversity and inclusion for all.
The plan widens participation to and enhancing success in higher education from students from underrepresented groups and encourages effective and efficient engagement with faculties and departments in attracting wider and more diverse applicants such as male nurses, female engineers and females in computing.
LYIT’s Athena SWAN Steering Committee and Self-Assessment Team completed substantial effort capturing extensive data and undertaking data analysis. The team will monitor progress across the Institute through this Gender Action Plan over the next four years. This will ensure LYIT keeps driving forward equality, diversity and inclusion for all staff and students.
The Athena SWAN charter is a framework that is used across the globe to support and transform gender equality in higher education and research. The charter launched in Ireland in 2015 with a specific remit to encourage and recognise commitment to advancing the careers of women in science, technology, engineering, math and medicine (STEMM) employment. The charter has since been expanded to include arts, humanities, social sciences, business and law and staff working in professional, managerial and support roles.
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