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MEMBERS OF STAFF at NUI Galway have voted for an independent equality audit within the University.
This follows a payout last month to Dr Micheline Sheehy-Skeffington, a botanist at the institution.
It was ruled by the Equality Tribunal that Sheehy-Skeffington had been unfairly discriminated against because of her gender.
She received a payout of €70,000 after she failed in her attempt to secure promotion to a senior post in 2009. It was declared by the Tribunal that the hiring process was flawed and ordered that Sheehy-Skeffington be promoted immediately.
Review
Members of SIPTU within the University have now called for an equality audit to take place, conducted by an independent expert or experts.
In a resolution passed at an ‘extraordinary general meeting’ yesterday, members passed a resolution that efforts must be made to “eliminate all facets of structural discrimination within the institution.”
To be able to bring the issue through quickly, members of SIPTU will be establishing a special sub-committee with the specific purpose of dealing with the issue.
In a statement from yesterday’s meeting, concerns were raised about the extent of discrimination within the institution, saying:
If this is happening to women academics at NUIG what are women on low pay or no pay facing, for example, administrative staff and cleaners? Actively and concretely addressing this issue is of concern to all staff regardless of gender or employment status.
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€70,000 euro payout and I presume no one has been fired
Gender based discrimination in a university of all places. One would think that the educated would know better.
Academics is one of the most elitist and bigoted areas surprisingly. There is a wide range of academics, but those who aren’t bigoted towards something tend to be at least elitist
I had Micheline for lectures. She was great, all round good educator, and every bit deserves to be recognised. That being said, don’t you know that the likes of opportunistic extremists on par with Ali Selim will use our love of equality against us, promoting Sharia law in the classroom, as seems to be the case in Trinity.
Do the feminists never tire of moaning?
70,000 Euro plus costs I presume
@citizensmith the equality tribunal does not award costs. Each side pay their own. Therefore dr sheehy Skeffington’s legal fees would have to come out of her award.
Can the interviewers in the process be named. These puplic servants have cosy #’s big salarys which we pay, so lets see who they are…..or are they still on Christmas holidays !!
Have our high paid academics nothing better to do. Are they still on Christmas holidays. Anyone with a HR degree from this outfit is surely suspect.
There is a lot of geo-spatial inequality in Dublin, quick lets move half of fox rock out to jobstown.
The Economics Department …Look at this lad ..
who is also …
Creating employment alright – loads more income streams for the same narrow grouping – It’s like a Dan Brown novel !
Somewhat off thread Dermot! Alan Ahearne appears to have very impressive qualifications as an academic and very impressive experience. Not sure why you are equating the two issues to be honest.
Some of the HR practices in NUI Galway appear to have been shockingly poor. Given the size of the university (2,200 staff) it is quite remarkable that they were not more closely monitoring the gender aspect of their promotion practices. Bluntly once you have performed this badly you cannot be trusted to get it right without oversight and external review. Every member of staff who applies for promotion should feel that it is their qualifications, experience and performance at interview that should dictate their success, not their gender. A female academic in NUI could not possibly feel assured of this based on the evidence in the public domain.
I agree completely John , but my post above is indicative of the type of people who are in Senior positions in N.U.I..G .
The term “connected ” springs to my mind when I see the I.M.F. involved – with no implication of wrong doing obviously !
have your say