'MEAS: Measuring Equality in the Arts Sector' Organisation Established by School Researchers

16 Nov 2018

Dr Kenneth Keating and Dr Ailbhe McDaid, IRC Postdoctoral Fellows in the School of English, have established the organisation MEAS: Measuring Equality in the Arts Sector: Literature in Ireland.

MEAS was set up to monitor and report on equality in the arts sector in Ireland, with a particular focus on the literary arts. Following the model established by the North American organisation VIDA: Women in the Literary Arts, MEAS gathers quantitative data for the preparation of annual reports to provide an accurate account of the literary landscape in Ireland and to record annual changes.

MEAS aims to support existing and emerging organisations addressing gender inequity in the arts sector in Ireland by collecting and presenting data on an annual basis. MEAS believes that by providing concrete statistical data to decision-makers in the arts sector, change can be effected. The efforts of MEAS complement the work of recent feminist movements in Irish arts including Waking the Feminists, Fired!, and FairPlé. While, at present, the attentions of MEAS are focused on gender parity, its objective is to highlight representational inequalities in the arts sector, including artists with disabilities, artists of diverse ethnic backgrounds, LGBTQ+ and gender-nonconforming artists, and other marginalised groups.

The first two reports 'Gender in Poetry Publishing in Ireland: 2017' and ‘Gender in Aosdána’ are available on the website measorg.com.

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You can follow MEAS on Twitter @MEASorg.