University College Cork
Career Development for Women in
Employment
EWM Strand 3
Investing in your future
The Equality for Women Measure 2010-2013 is funded by the European Social
Fund (ESF) through the Human Capital Investment Operational Programme 20072013 and the Department of Justice and Equality.
EWM Strand 3: Career Development for Women in Employment
University College Cork:
Through the Glass Ceiling: Career Progression Programme and
Strategy for Female Academics and Researchers
What is the ‘glass ceiling’?
The Irish academic labour force reflects international patterns of vertical and horizontal
segregation with women significantly under-represented at senior levels and more likely
to be in part-time or insecure employment. In University College Cork (UCC), the
female proportion at each academic level is as follows:
28 of 114 professors
49 of 145 Senior Lecturers
112 of 252 College Lecturers (above the bar)
105 of 208 College Lecturer (below the bar)
25%
34%
44%
50%
The EWM project is a positive action programme developed in response to the ‘glass
ceiling’ phenomenon and its aims focus on two core components:
 Individual: to provide supports to individual female academics and researchers
to empower them in relation to their own careers and to support them to
strategically plan their careers and to address work-life balance issues.
 Structural: to identify organisational strategies that will tackle gender inequalities
and horizontal/vertical segregation as well as gendered organisational culture.
The project is hosted by the Institute for Social Sciences in the 21st Century, UCC and
is supported by the UCC Equality Committee.
Project Actions targeted at the individual level
The project has developed a mentoring and professional development programme to
support individual women in academia, which involves the following elements:
Female Academics Mentoring Scheme
One-to-one mentoring
 Women in senior academic positions are matched with more junior female
academics and researchers for one-to-one mentoring partnerships of twelve
months duration to enable mentees to achieve career goals and develop longterm career skills and strategies.
Peer mentoring circles
 Senior women within UCC are matched with three females who are at the same
academic level to facilitate the provision of peer support over twelve months and
provide a space for discussion of the issues and goals faced by women in
different disciplines.
Professional Development Programme
Strategic Career Review and Planning
 The project developed and delivered a 9-month Career Planning programme for
academic/ research women in Early and Mid-Late Career, involving a series of
workshops and follow-up sessions, which focused on Career Plan, Social Media,
Professional Profile and Curriculum Vitae. The aims were to facilitate a strategic
review of an individual’s career and embark on a process of planning with
enhanced skills and perspectives.
Specific Career Skills
 Building on the above elements, the project also delivered a series of workshops
to develop and enhance practical career-related skills for academic women on
time management, professional networking, promotions & recruitment and
leadership.
Project Actions targeted at addressing structural issues
The development of sustainable approaches to addressing gender inequality within the
culture of the academic system requires systematic, creative and proactive strategies.
As part of the EWM project the following organisational strategies have been
developed:
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Recommendations for a Gender Equality Action Plan for UCC were developed
and are being presented to the UCC Equality Committee.
The project is developing a platform for collaborative action that brings together
the experiences of a range of stakeholders to develop recommendations for a
Gender Equality Action Plan for the Irish Higher Education Sector. The final
recommendations will be launched in November 2012.
“The work of the project is vital to question and critique structures, but more
importantly, to empower women at every level so that they can make a
contribution and a difference.” (Project Participant)
Key Project Outputs
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Review of international best practice in tackling gender inequality in higher
education.
Mentoring scheme established with 40 mentoring partnerships and 3 senior peer
mentoring circles.
Mentoring training / handbooks developed and provided to mentors/ mentees.
Professional Development Programme established; 151 women participated in
the Strategic Career Review/Planning and 97 participated in the Specific Career
Skills programme.
Recommendations for a Gender Equality Action Plan have been produced for
UCC and are currently being developed for the Irish higher education sector.
Project Benefits
The project has benefited participants in the following ways:
For mentees: new perspectives, increased confidence, enhanced decision-making
skills, support, encouragement and progress towards career goals for a 12-month
period.
“The programme was a real success. You selected a mentor, who
turned out to be very appropriate, and with whom I could have
relevant discussions. The whole process has allowed me to reflect on
my career and make slight but important changes. I am now a lot less
worried, more efficient, and getting results faster.” (Mentee)
For mentors: satisfaction, insight into the experiences of female academics and
researchers in different disciplines and strengthened networks.
“Mentor training gave me the confidence to support other staff in their quest
for academic development. I didn’t expect to get anything out of being a
mentor …. However, working with my mentee gave me an insight into the
challenges faced by some women in the university. I’m not saying I can solve
these but being aware of how these challenges present & how difficult they
are to overcome is a good first step.” (Mentor)
For women in early career: enhanced skills to strategically engage with their career
and develop their professional lives.
“Participation in the programme has been of great benefit to me in
terms of my development as a female academic. Each of the
workshops helped me enormously to focus on the various aspects of
my career which I knew very little about beforehand.”
For women in mid-career: space to examine career ambitions and achievements and
refresh energy and skills.
“I find that I am usually so busy with the everyday ‘doing’ of academic [...] life
that I never take time to stop and consider my own role and career wishes.
Indeed, this was the first time in over 25 years that I had done so!”
“I find that I am usually so busy with the everyday ‘doing’ of academic [...]
life that I never take time to stop and consider my own role and career
wishes. Indeed, this was the first time in over 25 years that I had
Project Enabling Factors/Barriers:
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The project had a clear equality agenda and aims from the outset.
Activities were informed by research on national and international best practice.
Training was provided by trainers that had particular experience of working with
women in academia and research.
The success of the project has been in large part due to the support participants
gave to each other, the shared learning between them and the honesty they
brought to the sessions.
Difficulties for participants to participate due to busy schedules and heavy
workloads.
Activities targeted at one particular section of a community can create tensions
which can discourage participation.
A general lack of awareness of gender inequality within higher education.
Key Learning / Mainstreaming
The key findings from the Through the Glass Ceiling project indicate that the impact of a
professional development and mentoring programme can be high when it is:
 tailored specifically for the target group;
 aware of diversity in the needs of the group;
 established with a clear agenda, structures and supports;
 delivered as part of a longer-term programme.
The dissemination of project learning has been a key focus within UCC and also at a
national/ European level.
UCC
 The project team liaise closely with relevant bodies in the university to enable the
mainstreaming of project activities into university structures e.g. the HR Dept
offered support to the project; it also started a pilot mentoring programme in
2012, as part of mainstream staff development activity, which incorporated
elements of the Female Academics’ Mentoring Scheme.
 The Project Coordinator sits on the UCC Equality Committee and reports on the
project on an ongoing basis.
National level
 In June 2011, the project team made a presentation to the Irish Universities
Association’s Equality Officers Network, which includes representatives from all
Irish universities.
 Visits were made to the six other Irish universities to discuss the project and to
share the lessons, a process that is continuing through the national networking
process.
European level
 The Through the Glass Ceiling project have been invited to negotiate for funding
under the EU’s Seventh Framework Programme, together with a consortium of
European universities to develop, and support the implementation of, a Gender
Equality Action Plan, over four years.
For further information: http://www.ucc.ie/en/iss21/Currentprojects/glassceiling/
National Collaboration Workshop
Participants from the June 2012 national collaboration workshop of Irish higher
education stakeholders working towards developing recommendations for a
sectoral Gender Equality Action Plan.
Back row (l-r): Dr. Siobhan Cusack (University College Cork), Angela Flynn (Irish Federation of
University Teachers), Dr. Kathy Glavanis-Grantham (University College Cork), Dr. Linda
Connolly (Project team, University College Cork), Dr. Caitriona Ni Laoire (Principal Investigator
of project), Dr. Ailbhe Smyth, Ms. Marie Connolly (University of Limerick)
Front row (l-r): Mr. Kieran Creedon (University College Cork), Dr. Carol Linehan (Project
team, University College Cork), Mr. Paul Smith (Dublin City University), Dr.Gemma Irvine (Irish
Research Council/HEA), Ms. Karen Campos McCormack (Trinity College Dublin).
Missing from photo: Prof. Geraldine Boylan (Project team, University College Cork and Chair
of the UCC Equality Committee) and Aifric O Gráda (Project Coordinator)