Lecturers seek promotion equality

A lecturer who won a landmark equality case against NUI Galway is to make her €70,000 award available to help five female colleagues similarly fight their cases.

Micheline Sheehy Skeffington, a botanist, had remained un-promoted for 24 years, despite applying for promotion to senior lecturer grade on five occasions. She took early retirement in September of this year, but not before taking her case to the Equality Tribunal.

In its finding a fortnight ago, the tribunal described NUI Galway’s interview process for staff seeking promotion as “ramshackle”, its attitude towards female staff’s maternity leave “unjustified”, and its overlooking of weaknesses in the CVs of male staff “worrying”.

Staffing statistics throughout the university were also damning, showing men had a one-in-two chance of being promoted but women has less than a one-in-three chance.

Ms Sheehy Skeffington won her right to promotion and €70,000 in damages.

NUI Galway said it unreservedly accepted the decision of the Equality Tribunal and would take immediate steps to implement the tribunal’s findings.

The university added that it very much regretted the distress caused to Ms Sheehy Skeffington, who is a grand-daughter of suffragette Hannah Sheehy Skeffington.

Yesterday, she stressed that she had not taken her case simply for herself. Her five colleagues, who had also repeatedly been denied promotion to senior lecturer grade, were “in the same boat”.

“The tribunal report actually refers to discrimination against women,” she said yesterday.

“I’m just happy to get my back pay and use the €70,000 award to help them with their legal expenses.

“For me it was a real bonus, so why not use it for a good cause.”

Her five colleagues all applied with Ms Sheehy Skeffington for promotion in 2008. All had been shortlisted but none promoted.

The five had again applied last year without success, while of the five men who had similarly been turned down for promotion in 2008, four were successful last year.

It is now unlikely that the five women will be able to take their case to the Equality Tribunal because of the time delay in applying — cases can only be taken to that forum within six months of alleged discrimination.

They are facing a more expensive route through other legal avenues and are taking legal advice on their next move — thanks to Ms Sheehy Skeffington’s generous offer.

They revealed yesterday that the the president of NUI Galway, Jim Browne, offered to meet them and they will accept his offer.

“I think the ruling in Micheline’s case gave a clear indication as to where things are at and it shows what she is about. It is a very generous offer and we can go to court under other industrial relations machinery,” said health promotion lecturer, Margaret Hodgins.

Ms Hodgins and her lecturer colleagues, Roisin Healey (history), Elizabeth Tilley (English), Adrienne Gorman (biochemistry) and Sylvie Lannegrand (French) yesterday met the media alongside Ms Sheehy Skeffington.

The retired botanist confirmed it had cost her €16,000 to fight her case before the tribunal. The university had used legal representatives and she had felt compelled to do likewise.

In a statement yesterday, Mr Browne stressed that NUI Galway viewed the issue of gender equality very seriously and recognised that, in the past, it and the Irish education sector as a whole, had a poor record on the promotion of women into senior roles.

He said the university was taking immediate steps to implement the tribunal’s findings.

“Some of those findings have already been put in place and the university initiated a major review of its senior lecturer promotion procedures, following which the university introduced a new promotion scheme.

The university is to set up a task force to review its practices with regard to gender equality and has accepted an offer of assistance from Ms Sheehy-Skeffington.