Liz O'Donnell
Question:31 Ms O'Donnell asked the Minister for Education if her Department has had discussions with the Department of Equality and Law Reform on the gender balance of senior officer positions within her Department.
Written Answers. - Gender Balance.
My Department has not had discussions with the Department of Equality and Law Reform on the gender balance of senior officer positions within my Department.
However, I was pleased in August of last year to respond to the invitation of my colleague the Minister for Equality and Law Reform to nominate a representative of my Department to the Monitoring Committee on Implementation of the Programme drawn from the report of the Second Commission on the Status of Women.
All Departments including mine were asked to respond to the recommendations of the commission which fell within their terms of reference.
One of the areas addressed by the commission was the low proportion of women on school inspectorate staff. The commission recommend that my Department should review the recruitment, deployment and working procedures of primary and post-primary school inspectors with the aim of increasing the number of women inspectors. This review is now in place and I would hope to see a substantial improvement in the gender balance both at recruitment and more senior levels.
I have recently received from the Minister for Equality and Law Reform, a copy of the report on a Survey of Equal Opportunities in the Public Sector. This report causes great concern as it highlights the virtual absence of women from senior management in the public sector. The Minister for Equality and Law Reform has sought and will get my cooperation in the introduction of progressive policies of equal opportunities to ensure that the current pattern of inequality within the public sector is effectively reduced.
My Department is an equal opportunities employer and fully subscribes to the Equal Opportunities Policy and Guidelines for the Civil Service. The objective of this policy is to ensure that all staff have an equal chance to develop their potential and to advance on the basis of merit and ability.