Queen’s Management School Gender Equality Initiative: Overview

Queen's Management School (QMS) Gender Equality Initiative joins the efforts by the University’s Diversity and Inclusion Unit to ensure equality of opportunity and respect for diversity across the institution and its wider community. We are here to actively enhance gender equality at the Management School. Our work includes hosting and facilitating conversations on gender issues in academia, drawing attention to senior female role models, organising gender awareness activities, and ensuring our School processes actively promote gender equality to staff members and students.

In May 2020, Queen’s Management School was awarded a Bronze Athena SWAN Charter Mark in recognition of our efforts to eliminate gender bias and develop and inclusive culture that values all staff.

School Commitments

QUB is committed to the promotion of equality of opportunity and to creating and sustaining an environment that values and celebrates the diversity of its staff and student body. All policies are aimed to enable staff and students to meet their full potential and to be treated as individuals.

A number of University policies which go beyond statutory requirements are in place, whereby the School commits to being a leader in the industry. Application forms for staff Parental Leave, Paternity Leave, Flexible Working, Career Break, and Adoptive Leave can be found here, alongside information on a healthy work life balance. QUB has a policy for student maternity and adoption support, the key principles of which are to be as flexible as possible, making sure that no student is disadvantaged due to caring responsibilities. In addition, the University is committed to its Trans Equality Policy and provides support for LGBT students.

The School is committed to family friendly working practices and has implemented a range of policies which enhance the University provision. All meetings are scheduled between core hours of 10am-4pm. Research-active Lecturers who return from a period of maternity leave are granted a semester free of teaching on their return to enable them to re-engage with research. Lecturers (Education) are granted a reduced teaching load in the first semester following their return to work. Breastfeeding mothers returning to work are provided with suitable facilities and private spaces in Riddel Hall to express and staff can also avail of dedicated facilities on the main QUB site.

QMS created the Gender Equality Team (GET) to explore our gender balance, processes, practices and culture.  

The GET meets approximately monthly and consists of staff and students from across the School, including: 

• Dr Renee Prendergast, Chair and SWAN Champion
• Dr Silviu Tierean, Vice Chair and SWAN Co-Champion
• Professor Nola Hewitt-Dundas, Head of Queen’s Management School
• Mr Azeez Alruwaitea, Postgraduate Representative
• Dr Denise Currie, Senior Lecturer in Management
• Ms Áine Doran, Postgraduate Representative
• Mrs Denise Falls, Head of Strategic Partnerships, William J Clinton Leadership Institute
• Mrs Fiona Gaffney, Research and Operations Administrator
• Mrs Aine Gallagher, Lecturer (Education) in Finance
• Mr Stuart McClure, Postgraduate Representative
• Mrs Sonia O’Hare, School Manager
• Dr Josue Ortega, Lecturer in Economics
• Dr Laura Steele, Lecturer (Education) in Business and Society

Queen’s Gender Initiative

Queen’s Gender Initiative (QGI) has published a report on the success of the Mentoring Scheme offered across the University which has helped 238 women advance their careers in academia. See the Summary Report here. 

Other Useful Gender Equality Links

Links to relevant and useful websites and articles related to gender equality:

• Gender Portal EU: GenPORT is a community sourced internet portal for sharing knowledge and inspiring collaborative action on gender and science. It brings together academics, practitioners, policy-makers, and researchers in order to offer resources, information, support, and links to relevant institutions, large-scale databases, and networks.
• Centre for Higher Education and Equity Research: Based at the University of Sussex, CHEER aims to promote equity, inclusion, and diversity in higher education. Their current research is centred around four broad themes: internationalisation; leadership; the neo-liberal global academy; and inclusion.
• Setting Agendas on Gender Equality in the Higher Education Sector in Ireland: Hosted by the University of Limerick and based on work by Professor Pat O’Connor, this webpage provides links to videos and case studies examining the under-representation of women in the professoriate and in senior management.
• Times Higher Education Articles on Gender: The THE website regularly features articles examining gender inequality across all aspects of academia in the UK and further afield, including this thought-provoking piece on potential causes and solutions.
• UN Sustainable Development Goal 5 - Gender Equality: Information from the UN on the importance of gender equality globally, as well as the progress made towards achieving it.
• Women, know your Limits: Cultural Sexism in Academia: An article from Gender and Education unpacking and exploring examples of ‘cultural sexism’ in British academia.