Addressing gender inequality in academia: The role of Irish funding agencies

The endorsement by the Irish Higher Education Authority (HEA) of the Athena SWAN Charter as a means of stimulating change towards gender equality was a turning point in the formalisation of processes to address gender imbalance in the Irish academia. The 2016 National Review of Gender Equality in Irish Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) provided a range of mechanisms to redress gender imbalance: recruitment of women into senior posts to lead on gender diversity at institutional level; a requirement for institutional Gender Action Plans and proposals towards gender equality to be linked with funding. This chapter examines the policy framework commitment to using funding to improve gender equality and addresses how the CEOs of the main higher education funding bodies in Ireland view their role in this changing landscape. Consideration is given to the role that funders play in effecting change and asks whether funding, as either a sanction or incentive, is having an impact.