Empowering Equality: University Initiatives Tackle Gender Pay Gap
TU Dublin has published its second annual Gender Pay Gap report, highlighting the difference between the average earnings of all men versus that of all women working in our University. In 2023, TU Dublin’s mean gender pay gap, which is the difference in the average hourly pay rate between all men and women, was 12.68% in favour of men. Our median gender pay gap, which is the difference between the ‘middle paid’ man and woman, was 15.05%, also favouring men. The mean gap is smaller amongst full-time employees (8.56%) and larger amongst temporary staff (19.8%).
Speaking about the University’s report, TU Dublin President David FitzPatrick said, “As a young university, TU Dublin’s ambition is to play a pivotal role in championing gender equality by serving as an influential institution that shapes values that will foster inclusivity and dismantle traditional gender biases on a societal level. Our latest report underscores the significant strides we are making toward becoming an exemplar in Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI), but our success requires a comprehensive and sustained commitment across all facets of our University to address gender inequality in our community and achieve a 0% gender pay gap in the years ahead.”
To generate the pay gap report, the University chose the “snapshot date” of Thursday, 30 June 2023 and calculated the annualised hourly pay rates for all persons employed. Then, the University compared the pay data of women and men according to the hourly rate and quartile distribution, which found that women are majority represented in the two lower pay quartiles, and males comprise the majority in the two upper pay quartiles, resulting in a mean gender pay gap of 12.68% and a median gender pay gap of 15.05%.
Speaking about the work the University is undertaking to advance gender equality, Director of Equality, Diversity and Inclusion, Professor Yvonne Galligan, said. “The University has identified a range of actions to address the gender pay gap in our Athena SWAN plan 2022-2025, including the prioritisation of greater inclusion of women in academic decision-making to reach and maintain a minimum 40% gender balance in all decision-making roles.”
Other key gender balance priorities for TU Dublin over the next number of years include:
- Ensure that 40% of Schools will have an Athena SWAN award by 2025
- Investigate the barriers and opportunities for increasing female enrolment in Apprenticeships and explore the potential appeal of bio and environmental sustainability avenues for apprenticeship programmes.
- Use our voice to influence national policy discussions and decisions on an appropriate academic career framework for Technological Universities.