A CONSORTIUM of five higher education institutions – Institute of Technology Carlow, Waterford Institute of Technology, Carlow College St Patrick’s Limerick Institute of Technology and Mary Immaculate College – has received funding from the HEA’s Gender Equality Enhancement Fund 2020 to roll out a gender identity and diversity training programme for staff in each of its colleges.
IT Carlow will take the lead on the project entitled ‘The development and implementation of a gender identity, expression and diversity training programme for staff in Irish HEIs’. The project was awarded €30,000 from the HEA fund that was established to advance gender equality initiatives in Irish higher education.
The majority of the five partner institutions in the project are in the process of, or have already have developed, gender identity and expression policies and procedures. The awarded programme is seen as contributing to ongoing progress in this area through dispelling gender stereotypes, enhancing and deepening awareness and capacity.
The funding will be used to develop two distinct programmes: one for academic and professional management and support staff one for senior executive teams. Once piloted, the programme will be rolled out amongst the five partner institutions leading to the development and launch of a permanent resource that will be available for all staff.
The programme will be delivered by ShoutOut, a charity that provides educational programmes in educational institutions in areas such as sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, and intersex identity.
The announcement today of the gender identity and diversity training programme coincides with Transgender Day of Visibility (TDOV), established to show support of trans identities and reject transphobia. Institute of Technology Carlow will mark its solidarity and support for the trans community today by raising the flag associated with this day at the Haughton Building and by supporting a social media campaign that rejects transphobia.
Colette Lane, Director of EDI and People, Institute of Technology commented, “We are delighted to have the opportunity to be able to develop and implement this training and very much appreciate the funding provided to enable us to achieve this”.
