Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 20 October 2020
461. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Children, Disability, Equality and Integration the extent to which equality prevails in the workplace in academia, health services and in the public and private sectors in general; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [31662/20]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe Government is committed to achieving equality across all areas of society in Ireland. Ireland was ranked 7th in the EU-28 on the European Institute for Gender Equality's 2019 Gender Equality Index which is based on data from 2017. Between 2005 and 2017, Ireland’s score increased by 9.4 points (+ 1.8 points since 2015), showing faster progress towards gender equality than other EU Member States. Ireland has shown greatest improvement since 2005 in improving gender balance in leadership, reflecting the initiatives undertaken to improve the gender balance in politics, the Civil Service, academia, publicly listed boards, research funding organisations and publically owned broadcasting organisations.
My Department now coordinates the National Strategy for Women and Girls 2017-2020. The strategy includes measures advanced by the Department of Education and Skills and the Higher Education Authority, to promote gender balance in higher education leadership. High level targets for the implementation of the recommendations of the 2016 HEA Gender Equality report and the 2018 Gender Taskforce Action Plan are included in the new System Performance Framework for Higher Education Institutions launched in 2018.
