Proportion of female professors 'same since the seventies'

The number of female professors in the country has not increased much since the early seventies when the marriage ban was still in existence, the Dean of Humanities at one of country's biggest universities has revealed.

Professor Pat O'Connor was the first woman to be appointed to full professorial level at the University of Limerick.

Speaking at a recent presentation of bursaries to two first year students, Ms O'Connor said that ten years later it was a pleasure to recognise that there were now four women at professorial level in UL.

"However, the proportion of women at Professorial level nationally, at 10%, is not very different from what it was in the early 1970s, when the Marriage Bar was still in existence," said Prof O'Connor.

"There is still a very great distance to go before we reach a situation where men and women are equally involved in the creation and dissemination of knowledge-a very important issue in view of girls' excellent performance at Leaving Certificate level."

Professor O'Connor made her comments at the presentation of two bursaries to first years students Louise Donovan from Kilkenny and Linda Gormally from Ballinasloe.

Both students are studying for a degree in History, Politics, Sociology and Social Studies.

The bursaries, valued at €1,500 each were created by Professor O'Connor in 1997 in memory of her late mother, a graduate of University College Cork at the time the Marriage Bar was introduced in the 1930s.

Speaking at the presentation, Prof O'Connor, who is Dean of the College of Humanities said that the young recipients, as students of the Social Sciences, were uniquely placed to understand the changing nature of our society.

As a woman, and as a frequent beneficiary of Bursaries herself, Ms O'Connor said that she was delighted to applaud the academic excellence of the young women.