School of Chemistry receive prestigious Athena SWAN Silver Award

7 May 2026

The School of Chemistry, University College Cork (UCC) has achieved their first Silver Athena Swan Award. 

The prestigious award recognises 10 years of work undertaken by the School implementing actions to positively impact and advance gender equality. Their progress on improving experiences around family leave was particularly commended.

The School of Chemistry was one of the first Schools in UCC, and nationally, to earn Athena Swan accreditation when the Charter was introduced to Ireland and is now among the first to attain Silver. 

Dr. Liz Gilchrist, Chair of the School of Chemistry's EDI Committee, who led the application said: "We are thrilled to have achieved an Athena Swan Silver award, reflecting the commitment of staff and students in the School of Chemistry to EDI principles. I particularly want to acknowledge the hard work of the self-assessment team and look forward to implementing our action plan, continuing to create a more inclusive culture."

Professor Anita Maguire, Head of School said: "Congratulations to Liz and all of the SAT on this positive outcome which is particularly welcome as it highlights the effort invested and progress made within the School over the past decade in embedding a more inclusive culture in our everyday activities."

UCC now has 18 Schools holding Athena Swan awards, including Tyndall National Institute, and has maintained institutional Athena Swan accreditation since 2016, achieving Silver institutional status in 2025. UCC's School of Pharmacy has also received Silver accreditation in 2026, while the School of Food and Nutritional Sciences received a Silver award in 2025.