The spatialities of soft power projection - Ireland's third national action plan for the implementation of UNSCR1325

Dr. Liam Coakley, Department of Geography, School of the Human Environment

Impact: International

This project explores the spatialised nature of soft-power in 2022.  It particularly focuses on Ireland's evocation of UNSCR 1325 on women, peace and security and seeks to demonstrate how Irish foreign policy is beginning to present the country as a 'thought-leader' in this area. This research paper will inform academic/policy debate on the evolution of Ireland's current foreign policy platform. Previously, foundational White/Western/Catholic narratives of nation have been replaced by a geographically grounded strategic 'post-colonial/post-conflict edge/island' policy narrative. This foundation is being used to present Ireland as a 'thought-leader' in similar global contexts - such as in Small Island and Developing States (SIDS).  Ireland's engagement with UNSCR 1325 is core to this projection.

Research will impact on policy formation as Ireland builds on its recent UNSCR membership to push the international 'women, peace and security' agenda. This research will inform academics and policy-makers about the spatialities of Ireland's power projection in international relations. The physical foundations of Ireland's soft power projection are laid bare, and readers are invited to reengage with the inherently geographical discourse intertwined with Ireland's NAP3 on 'women peace and security'.

SDG 5 - Gender Equality

• Target 5.5 – Ensure full participation in leadership and decision-making
• Target 5.c - Adopt and strengthen policies and enforceable legislation for gender equality

SDG 16 - Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions

• Target 16.3 - Promote the rule of law and ensure equal access to justice
• Target 16.6 - Develop effective, accountable and transparent institutions

Gender-related labour market inequality: the continued relevance of unpaid care and domestic work in women’s working lives

Dr. Lauren Bari, Department of Marketing and Management, Cork University Business School

Impact: National, International

While the gender pay gap is receiving much attention in Ireland and abroad, this research highlights the more complex factors that lie behind gendered pay differentials and the unintended consequences of policies aimed to alleviate them. Theoretical frameworks are applied to a topic often viewed through a purely economic lens. This research explores relationships between parenthood, elder care, household labour and labour market outcomes such as pay, working arrangements and occupational choice. The theoretical focus point of this work is how human capital theory interacts with women’s continued role as primary carers in society.

Previous research undertaken in 2020/2021 explored gendered flexible working and the variations in financial outcomes experienced by freelance self-employed. Current research highlights how parenthood has diverging effects on the income of women and men, reflecting not only divisions of unpaid labour, but also cultural perceptions of fathers as breadwinners. This analysis will also be expanded to explore fatherhood wage premiums in more depth and the topic of gendered elder care, using both Irish and international data. All of these areas pivot around recognising unpaid labour (target 5.4) and ensuring equal opportunities for women (target 5.5).

SDG 5 - Gender Equality

• Target 5.4 - Value unpaid care and promote shared domestic responsibilities
• Target 5.5 - Ensure full participation in leadership and decision-making

CareVisions: linking care with SDG targets 

Dr. Felicity Daly, Dr. Claire Edwards, Dr. Carol Kelleher, Dr. Cliona Loughnane, Dr. Jacqui O'Riordan, Institute for Social Science in the 21^st Century (ISS21)

Impact: National

CareVisions aims to develop an experience-based care ethics to reframe how we understand present and future care relations and practices in contemporary Ireland in light of the challenges and issues revealed by the COVID-19 pandemic. It uses qualitative methods to explore (i) how care was constructed and understood during the pandemic (ii) the care experiences of two key groups in Irish society, people with disabilities, and asylum seekers, and (iii) what we can learn from these experiences to envision future care relations.

CareVisions contributes understandings relevant to SDG target 5.4 by recognising and valuing unpaid care and domestic work and promoting shared responsibility for care within households and families. Outputs also provide an impetus for social policy analysis of provision of public services, infrastructure and social protection policies that are or are not responsive to care. Our research also contributes insights related to target 8.8 regarding working environments of care workers, in particular women migrants, and target 10.2 related efforts to overcome social and economic exclusion on the basis of disability, origin and intersectional factors grounded in care needs. CareVisions is building a collaborative, interdisciplinary network of scholars and community/voluntary organisations committed to advancing knowledge and theory that explores moral and ethical questions about the future of care in Ireland and beyond. We also seek to engage policymakers to inform public policy debate and development about the ethics and practice of care in Ireland.    

SDG 5 - Gender Equality

• Target 5.4 - Value unpaid care and promote shared domestic responsibilities

SDG 8 - Decent Work and Economic Growth

• Target 8.8 - Protect labour rights and promote safe working environments
  

SDG 10 - Reduced Inequalities

• Target 10.2 - Promote universal social, economic and political inclusion
  

SDG 11 - Sustainable Cities and Communities

• Target 11.7 - Provide access to safe and inclusive green and public spaces
  

Gender Matters, Women's Lives and Experiences in the Criminal Justice System

Dr. Joan Cronin, Department of Sociology & Criminology, School of Society, Politics and Ethics

Impact: International

This work critically reflects on women's lived experiences of involvement in the criminal justice system and the intersecting oppressions, challenges, barriers and possibilities to accessing justice for women. Historically women's lives have been considered inferior, they have been subjected to private and public abuse and discrimination, their trust had been broken, their lives shattered and sometimes their only form of hope for a better life for themselves is by assessing support services, however the initial and indeed ongoing interaction with key service providers is critical to their recovery. Oftentimes, their trust in these services is betrayed, they are treated with suspicion, disdain, considered inferior and unworthy. A kind word, a trusting person can make all the difference to their lives. All women should be treated with the utmost respect and admiration, they should be revered for their strength and determination in trying to free themselves from a life of abuse and exploitation.

Through first person accounts documented in Open Clasp’s production SUGAR, the course is being delivered to service users and service providers in Ireland and the UK, to generate awareness of the background factors that impact on women's lives and life choices and the barriers and challenges they face in their daily lives

“All Women's Lives Matter!”

– Dr. Joan Cronin

SDG 5 - Gender Equality

• Target 5.1 - End discrimination against women and girls
• Target 5.2 - End all violence against and exploitation of women and girls

Bystander Intervention at UCC

Professor Louise Crowley, School of Law

Impact: Local, National, International

The Bystander Intervention programme educates and empowers participants to contribute to a visible institutional culture of positivity and support. By developing a collaboration across the campus community, it provides the catalyst for crucial learning, allyship and empowerment, and demands an end to all forms of sexual harassment and violence. The impact data demonstrates a significant and meaningful enhancement of participants’ understanding of what constitutes sexual harassment and violence, a realization of their capacity to make a difference and the significant enhancement of their own ability to make effective interventions.

The programme has been adapted and is now being delivered in 45 second-level schools nationwide and a workplace training programme has been developed for the workplace environment. As a targeted initiative capable of effecting cultural change, it has been expressly identified in the National Framework as the sector leader, now being rolled out in Higher Educational institutions nationally, at the request of, and funded by, the Minister for Higher Education; and to second-level schools funded by the Irish Research Council.

“ The impact of the Bystander Intervention programme reaches across the UCC campus and far beyond and has effected real cultural change. In empowering all bystanders to demand better through safe and effective interventions, this programme is having a transformative effect on individual behaviour and in turn contributes positively to the everyday lives of women and girls.”

– Professor Louise Crowley

SDG 5 - Gender Equality 

SDG 16 - Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions

LIBRA: Future Proofing Gender Equality in Higher Education Institutions - Experiential Learning in Simulation for Students Leaders

LIBRA Research Group: Míde Power 1, Dr. Siobhán Lucey 2, Dr. Avril Hutch 3, Dr. Siobhán Lucey 4, Dr. Patrick Henn 5, Anne-Marie Curtin 3, Dr. Tanya Dean 6, Michelle Scott 1, Dr. Claire Condron 1 

1. Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland SIM Centre for Simulation Education and Research, 2. School of Economics, Cork University Business School & Mná@UCC Women's Network, 3. Equality and Diversity Unit, University College Cork, 4. Cork University Dental School and Hospital & Mná@UCC Women's Network; 5. ASSERT Simulation Centre, UCC, 6. Conservatoire, Technology University Dublin

Impact: Local, National, International

The purpose of the LIBRA (balance) project is to future-proof gender equality in Irish Higher Education Institution leadership by working with future leaders to address biases and accelerate culture change. This pilot project employs simulation technology to provide gender equality-based leadership training to student leaders in three Irish institutions. Participants are equipped with the knowledge and skills required to promote gender equality in their daily lives.

To date, the outputs from this research include completion of a consultation process with students and gender equality experts, in addition to a scoping review of the literature, both of which informed the development of a competency-based skills framework and simulation training programme for student leaders in the domain of gender equality-based leadership. The LIBRA programme has been piloted and evaluated by student leaders in three institutions. LIBRA has the potential to be activated across the higher education sector nationally and internationally. LIBRA creates a co-operative simulated learning experience to build the capacity of future leaders to dismantle disadvantage, influence change and strengthen diversity and inclusion. Developed in partnership with student leaders and gender equality experts, this innovative research project uses an evidence-based approach in the development of high-fidelity simulation methodologies.

“LIBRA is designed to effect meaningful and sustainable change by empowering the leaders of the future to promote gender equality.”

SDG 5 - Gender Equality

• Target 5.1 - End discrimination against women and girls
• Target 5.5 - Ensure full participation in leadership and decision-making
• Target 5.c - Adopt and strengthen policies and enforceable legislation for gender equality

SDG 4 - Quality Education

• Target 4.7 - Education for sustainable development and global citizenship