University presidents hail 'incredible' new 'women-only' scheme

Higher Education Minister Simon Harris with  Dr Orla Flynn, president of Atlantic Technological University; Dr Linda Doyle, provost at Trinity College Dublin; Professor Eeva Leinonen, president of Maynooth University; Professor Maggie Cusack, president of Munster Technological University and Professor Kerstin Mey, president of University of Limerick at an event on Monday to mark International Women's Day. Picture: Maxwells

The introduction of the controversial ‘women-only’ scheme set up to promote more gender diversity amongst university professors will make an impact on the leadership of Irish higher education.

That’s according to Professor Eeva Leinonen, president of Maynooth University and one of the first women to lead an Irish university.

Professor Leinonen was speaking as the six sitting female presidents met on Monday as part of a panel discussion to mark International Women’s Day 2023.

Just four years ago, Ireland did not have a single female university president in its 400-year history of higher education.

When Professor Orla Feely takes up her new post as president of University College Dublin (UCD) in May, more than 50% of Ireland’s 12 universities will be led by women.

At the event hosted by Maynooth University on Monday, the first six women to lead Irish universities spoke about their experiences and shared their perspectives on gender in academia. The panel also spoke about the impact education had on their early lives and throughout their careers.

Professor Leinonen thanked former higher education minister Mary Mitchell O'Connor for introducing the Senior Academic Leadership Initiative (Sali) in 2019. The scheme has led to 30 female-only professorships in Ireland.

Introducing the scheme had “its challenges and took a lot of perseverance and foresight”, Professor Leinonen said.

“I sit here with my fellow presidents and I do think very much about the pipeline behind us, and you know, the responsibility that we all feel for developing that pipeline and the Sali initiative is something that really enables us to do that.” 

There are still problems when it comes to recruitment that mirror those in wider society, she added. 

“But I think we are very determined as a sector to make the most out of this incredible initiative. I would say give it a few more years and we will be able to look at the impact.”

The panel also heard Ireland currently “does not act” on education being the most transformative tool we have. That’s according to Dr Linda Doyle, Provost of Trinity College Dublin.

“Each of our students year on year on year are getting less of an investment in them. For me, the challenge is dealing with that.”

This deficit needs to be addressed through core funding rather than specialised initiatives, Dr Doyle said. 

“Because what the specialised initiatives do is they take autonomy away from us deciding on where things are best used, and they're kind of short-lived.”

The panel included Dr Doyle, who is originally from Togher in Cork, and Professor Leinonen. It also included Professor Maggie Cusack, president of Munster Technological University; Professor Veronica Campbell, South East Technological University; Dr Orla Flynn, Atlantic Technological University and Professor Kerstin Mey, University of Limerick.