Ireland seeks to boost number of women in science and engineering

Citation

(2005), "Ireland seeks to boost number of women in science and engineering", Education + Training, Vol. 47 No. 8/9. https://doi.org/10.1108/et.2005.00447hab.008

Ireland seeks to boost number of women in science and engineering

The Irish government is to introduce three new programmes, worth a total €1 million, to boost the number of women in science and engineering.

Michael Martin, the Irish Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment, said: “The EU member states have committed themselves to increasing their research and development spending to 3 per cent of gross domestic product by 2010. In Ireland, this translates to a need to recruit 12,500 additional researchers. Women represent a significant and relatively untapped resource from which many of these additional researchers can be recruited.”

More girls than boys take science for their leaving certificate in Ireland, and women are well represented at undergraduate and postgraduate levels in most scientific and technological disciplines. But women account for only a quarter of industrial researchers and hold only a small percentage of senior academic positions.

The programmes will be funded by Science Foundation Ireland. Mr Martin concluded: “The returns on these investments will include world-class research, positive role models and increased female participation in Irish research.”