IWD2022
International Women's Day 2022
#BreakTheBias #THEAIWD22
Read our stories here
Sonya Ryan, TUS
Throughout my life I have faced numerous barriers in my education experience. In 2019 I began the Social Care Degree course and again availed of the learning support to help me with some modules. Being a recipient of the 1916 bursary has also helped me financially and it meant I could stay in college without any financial worries. . I hope to be a role model for kids throughout the Travelling community who have had their confidence knocked over and over again.
Sonya Ryan
Valerie Butler, GMIT
Valerie Butler is a lecturer in the Department of Computing and Applied Physics. Her areas of expertise include computer graphics, game design & development and complex problem solving. She actively and passionately advocates for inclusive Computing; striving to make the discipline balanced, open and inclusive for women and other minorities.
Valerie Butler
Ciara O'Shea, EDI Officer, DkIT
As EDI Officer Ciara has been fundamental to DkIT's achieving Athena SWAN accreditation. Ciara’s ability to lead teams and bring people together is evident in all the various initiatives she is involved with; staff wellbeing, student consent, parent support, bullying & harassment and more.
Ciara O'Shea
Dr Cara Daly and Siobhan Flynn Fogarty, WIT
We are two of the founding members of the recently established LGBT+ Staff Network in WIT. We feel lucky to work in an institution that values diversity and actively works to recognize, understand, and root out biases that could, if left unacknowledged, lead to discrimination.
Cara Daly & Siobhan Flynn Fogarty
Nicola Dunnion, LYIT
The belief at that time was that women should not be playing Gaelic football - I didn’t let this stop me, I continued to play Senior Ladies football for twenty years, I captained both my club and county. I won every competition there was to win at both underage and senior football within my county for my club. I received player of the year for Donegal, won an All-Star in 2002 and a Junior All-Ireland with Donegal in 2003. I was very passionate about breaking the bias
Nicola Dunnion
Vanessa Gildea Head of Department of Film + Media, IADT
Vanessa Gildea worked as an associate lecturer in the National Film School at IADT for seven years and is a multi-award winning filmmaker with twenty years industry experience. She was Vice Chair of Women in Film & Television Ireland and served on the board for three years.
Vanessa Gildea
Dr Lillian Byrne, IT Carlow
It is an honour to be the 2022 International Women’s Day ambassador for IT Carlow as March 8th is the anniversary of my doctoral viva. In essence, the project that I have undertaken in IT Carlow has been my biographical narrative of breaking bias by bringing visibility of disability to the Institute in a physical way and conceptual way by highlighting language, perceptions, and structures which ensconce bias.
Lillian Byrne
Clodagh Roper, 3rd year student, IT Sligo
On returning to campus in February I didn’t think it would be possible to continue breastfeeding my 4 month old child. I am so delighted to have access to the Mother's Room on campus. It has given me the option to continue breastfeeding. This has been amazing for my son and I.
Clodagh Roper
Tikambechi Mwalughali, Sanctuary Student at TUS
I have lived in the Athlone Direct Provision Centre for almost 5 years and I got my residency in 2021. I am grateful for this experience as it has given me a series of opportunities that I desired in my life.This opportunity for education means a lot to me because it gave me the power over myself and the ability to control my future. As a woman it is very important to be independent.
Tikambechi Mwalughali
Consent Group, GMIT
The GMIT Working Group for Preventing and Responding to Sexual Violence and Harassment was established following an open call for membership in January 2021. The working group is broadly representative of the Institute community of staff and students, has representation from all GMIT campuses and is gender-balanced.
GMIT Consent Group
Keara Barret, Head of Department of Computing, IT Carlow
Keara Barret led the Athena Swan application for the Dartment of Computing at IT Carlow, which was the first Institute of Technology to be granted a Bronze award for the computing department.
Keara Barret
Róisín McCormack, Disability Officer LYIT
I, alongside my colleagues, am committed to making sure that the learners that we support, regardless of their gender, feel included, valued and fairly represented and we aim to provide meaningful learning experiences for all students. We are committed to supporting diversity and inclusion.
Roisin McCormack
Jean Rice Chair of the Film & Television programmes, IADT
Jean Rice has been a stalwart member of the academic staff in Film & TV for over twenty years, and brings an exemplary track record in creative production industry experience, and works tirelessly in maintaining rich and rewarding industry connections for the benefit of the student body.
Jean Rice
Rosemary Flynn, IT Carlow
Rosemary Flynn has been leading sexual violence and harassment prevention and support measures at both the Institute of Technology Carlow and Nationally. Rosemary is an advocate for ‘breaking the bias’ and promoting gender equality and is a member of the Institute of Technology Carlow’s Equality Diversity and Inclusion Committee
Rosemary Flynn
Dr Jacqueline O’Toole, Chair of the Athena Swan Self-Assessment Team, IT Sligo
Dr Jacqueline O’Toole has been a longstanding advocate for equality and diversity at IT Sligo. She describes herself as “a feminist sociologist” and she is a lecturer in Social Research and Sociology in the Department of Social Sciences at IT Sligo
Jacqueline O'Toole
GMIT Letterfrack EDI campus sub-committee
The Department of Furniture Design and Technology and the Department of Creative Education, established a Letterfrack Campus EDI Sub-Committee in 2021 to help raise awareness and engage both staff and students in a conversation on issues relating to gender equality, sexual misconduct and unconscious bias and to generate a culture of inclusivity within their education community.
GMIT Letterfrack
Dr Maria McEvoy, WIT
Breaking the Bias about Vaginismus for Women and Couples: The first Irish study in forty years to look at the psychosocial factors that contribute to vaginismus has just been completed in the School of Nursing, Psychotherapy and Community Health in Dublin City University lead by Waterford Institute of Technology lecturer Dr. Maria McEvoy
Maria McEvoy
Nhu Nguyen, Senior International Student Ambassador, LYIT
My parents gave birth to two daughters in a society that countless times told my parents to try for a boy. However, they were more than happy with the two of us, my sister and I. We are never a regret of our parent but rather their pride and treasure.
Nhu Nguyen
Dr Dióg O'Connell, Lecturer, IADT
Dr. Díóg O'Connell lectures in film and media at IADT and is programme chair of New Media Studies. One of her most keen interests is exploring Irish Women and Screenwriting and she has done extensive research on Ellen O'Mara Sullivan, who has is credited with Ireland's first independent feature film, Knocknagow (1918).
Diog O'Connell
Keara Barret, Head of Department of Computing, IT Carlow
Keara Barret led the Athena Swan application for the Dartment of Computing at IT Carlow, which was the first Institute of Technology to be granted a Bronze award for the computing department.
Keara Barret
Vicky Matthew, Student, IT Sligo
Vicky has advocated for the rights and needs of students with disabilities by calling for real inclusion on campus, promotion of support, and accessible student accommodation. Currently, she is working on a campaign to remove the stigma around disclosing disabilities to access supports available to third-level students in higher education
Vicky Matthew
LGBT Network, GMIT
The GMIT LGBT network is motivated by the values of Equality and Fairness, Voice and Visibility, Diversity and Inclusion. Its goal is to create a safe and supportive space for LGBT+ staff within GMIT and to bring a LGBT+ equality perspective into organisational policy, systems, and culture within GMIT. The network will promote its values and goals within GMIT through public-facing events and initiatives.
GMIT LGBT Network
Eavan Boland Project, IT Carlow
Karolyn McDonnell, a researcher with the National Centre for Men's Health at IT Carlow, and colleague Aisling Gartland, a PhD candidate based at the engCORE research hub, have teamed up with 16 international students attending IT Carlow to make a special video marking the global day that celebrates the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women.
Eavan Boland Project
Yvonne Roache, Health and Wellbeing Officer, IT Sligo
My daughters look to me as their role model, I hope that they see that despite the challenges of being a single working mother, living with a chronic illness that you can still grow and make a meaningful impact in your work and life. For them and for myself I strive to #BreakTheBias.
Yvonne Roache
Sheila Donegan, Lecturer, WIT
Sheila is a lecturer in Chemistry and Director of Calmast – the Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths (STEM) Outreach centre at Waterford IT and co-founder of Maths Week
Sheila Donegan
