Ireland to introduce female-only professorships

Trinity College, Dublin

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Controversial scheme hopes to improve gender diversity in research institutions

Dozens of female-only professorships are to be funded by the Irish government over the next three years in an effort to tackle gender inequality in academia.

The radical step follows the publication of a taskforce report that looks at ways to accelerate gender equality in Irish universities and other third level institutions. In the university sector, some 51% of lecturers were female, while only 21% of professors were female in 2017.