The ISS21 Gender and the Academy Research Working Group is a network of academics from across the social and political sciences in UCC, working on and interested in, research on gender in the academy.

With a feminist lens, we endeavour to address questions on the gendered and gendering nature of academic institutions; on the role of gender equality strategies and initiatives in addressing inequalities in the academy; on the role playing by gendered power relations; on the role of intersectionalities with gender, including precarity; the question of agency and resistance within the academy

This group is connected to the ISS21 Genders, Sexualities and Families Research Cluster and builds upon the Post-GENOVATE* Research Group.

ISS21 has a strong track record of research on gender and the academy. Current and past projects hosted by the Institute include:

• GendeResearchIreland
• RRING
• GENOVATE
• Through the Glass Ceiling

We look forward to collaborating with colleagues from across UCC, Ireland and internationally on these research endeavours!

Members of the working group:

• Dr Monica O’Mullane (ISS21, Marie Skłodowska-Curie Fellow)
• Dr Caitríona Ní Laoire (School of Applied Social Studies)
• Professor Carol Linehan (School of Applied Psychology)
• Dr Fiona Buckley (Department of Government and Politics)
• Nicola Maxwell (School of Applied Social Studies)
• Dr Theresa O’Keefe, Department of Sociology

Select publications by group members:

Archibong, U.A., O'Mullane, M., Kállayová,D., Karodia, N., Ní Laoire, C., and Picardi, I (2016) ‘Guided reflection as an organisational learning [and data collection] tool in a Gender Equality Change Management Programme’, International Journal of Organisational Diversity, 16(1): 19-34.

Courtois, A and O'Keefe, T. (2015) 'Precarity in the ivory cage: Neoliberalism and casualisation of work in the Irish higher education sector', Journal for Critical Education Policy Studies 12(5), May. http://www.jceps.com/archives/2458

Maxwell, N, Connolly, L, Ní Laoire, C. (2019) Informality, emotion and gendered career paths: The hidden toll of maternity leave on female academics and researchers, Gender, Work and Organisation 26: 140–157.

Ní Laoire, C., Linehan, C., Archibong, U., Picardi, I, Udén, M. (2020) 'Context matters: Problematizing the policy‐practice interface in the enactment of gender equality action plans in universities', Gender, Work and Organization 28(2): 575-592.

O'Grada, A., Ni Laoire, C., Linehan, C., Boylan, G., Connolly, L. (2015) 'Naming the parts: a case-study of a gender equality initiative with academic women', Gender in Management: An International Journal, 30(5):358-378.

O'Keefe, T. and Courtois, A. (2020) 'Who does the "housework of the university" during a pandemic? The  impact of Covid-19 on precarious women working in universities', Gender & Society, 30 June.  https://gendersociety.wordpress.com/2020/06/30/who-does-the-housework-of-the-university-during-a-pandemic-the-impact-of-covid-19-on-precarious-women-working-in-universities/

O'Keefe, T. and Courtois. A. (2019) "‘Not one of the family": Gender and precarious work in the neoliberal university', Gender, Work & Organization, 26(4): 463-479.

O’Mullane, M. (2021) ‘Developing a theoretical framework for exploring the institutional responses to the Athena SWAN Charter in higher education institutions (HEIs)- A Feminist Institutionalist Perspective,’ Irish Journal of Sociology, OnlineFirst

*GENOVATE (Transforming organisational culture for gender equality in research and innovation) (2013-2017) was an EC funded (FP7) pan European project. It sought to facilitate organisational change through the implementation of contextualised gender equality plans in academic institutions. UCC was a partner of the GENOVATE consortium, along with universities in the United Kingdom (project leader), Turkey, Sweden, Italy, Spain and Slovakia.