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UCCs School of Medicine awarded its first Athena SWAN Bronze Award

25 Apr 2024
The School of Medicine Athena SWAN Self-Assessment Team

UCC’s School of Medicine has achieved its first Athena SWAN Bronze Award for gender equality in higher education. The award celebrates good practice towards the advancement of gender equality and representation.

With this award, all six Schools in UCC’s College of Medicine and Health are now fully accredited by the Athena SWAN Charter.

Professor Mark McEntee and Professor Aideen Sullivan led the Athena SWAN Self-Assessment Team in the School of Medicine.

Professor Stephen Byrne, UCC Deputy President, Registrar and Chair of UCC’s Athena SWAN Steering Group, said: “The awards recognise our commitment to delivering gender equality, making UCC a positive and inclusive working environment in which everyone can reach their full potential. The application process helps schools reflect on how local practices, systems, and policies promote gender equality. This award is a tribute to the work of Professor Mark McEntee and Professor Aideen Sullivan and their colleagues and the commitment in the School of Medicine to values of fairness, equality, inclusion and belonging”.

Professor Helen Whelton, Head of the College of Medicine and Health, said: “We are delighted to receive this award. It reflects the sustained effort and commitment of a large team in the School of Medicine, led by Prof. Mark McEntee and Prof. Aideen Sullivan, who met monthly for the past two years, analysed extensive data and consulted widely with colleagues and students. This award sees all six Schools in UCC’s College of Medicine and Health fully accredited, which is excellent news”.

Professor Paula O’Leary, Dean of the School of Medicine, said: “We are immensely pleased with this recognition of the School of Medicine’s commitment to progressing gender equality and Equity, Diversity and Inclusion more broadly within our School. Throughout the process, our Athena SWAN team has engaged with our community, staff and postgraduate students, collecting, reviewing and analysing data to inform the next steps that we need to take to deliver an equal, diverse and inclusive work environment for everyone. We look forward to implementing our four-year Gender Equality Action Plan, which I and my leadership team are fully committed to delivering”.

The Athena SWAN Charter is an accreditation framework that is used across the globe to support and transform gender equality in higher education and research. Athena SWAN launched in Ireland in 2015 and versions of the charter are in place in the UK, Australia, the USA and Canada.

Athena SWAN

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