Gender in research funding

HRB Policy on gender in research funding

In line with international best practice the HRB has a responsibility to support both women and men to realise their full potential in order to ensure equality of opportunity and to maximise the quantity and the quality of research. A key objective of the HRB is to strive for gender balance in Irish health research. Achieving this objective requires a persistent and long-term effort with continual review of our processes.

The HRB will work to achieve a greater gender balance throughout its research funding programmes and practices by:

  • Promoting gender equality within its own administration of research funding and within the research teams that it funds;
  • Fostering the integration of sex and/ or gender in research and innovation (R&I) content;
  • Assuming a greater national responsibility for promoting gender equality in health research.

 

Linking funding eligibility and Athena Swan accreditation

The HRB Gender policy now includes a link between Athena Swan accreditation and funding eligibility for HRB Host Institutions that are also Higher Education Institutions. 

The Athena SWAN Charter is an internationally recognised ‘quality mark’ for gender equality administered by Equality Challenge Unit in the UK. Information on Athena SWAN in Ireland is available at http://www.ecu.ac.uk/equality-charters/athena-swan/athena-swan-ireland/

Specific queries on Athena Swan should be directed to the Higher Education Authority(HEA) at gender(at)hea.ie.