A university lecturer who alleged she was overlooked for a professorship because she was a woman has been awarded €10,000 by the Equality Tribunal.
Jane Horgan claimed that her failure to be appointed to the position of associate professor at Dublin City University in 2002 was due to sex discrimination. Four male candidates who applied at the same time as her were successful, and Dr Horgan told the tribunal she believed she was better qualified than each of them.
The university denied the allegation and said the selection process did not involve Dr Horgan competing against other candidates for the post; rather, appointment was dependent solely on nationally and internationally-recognised academic excellence.
Upholding Dr Horgan's complaint, the equality officer ordered the university to appoint her to the post of associate professor from the same date as a successful male candidate and to pay her the full necessary back pay and other benefits from that date.
DCU was also instructed to pay Dr Horgan €10,000 by way of compensation for the distress she suffered as a result of the discrimination.
In a separate judgment, secondary school teacher Elizabeth Maher, who alleged sex discrimination against her employer, was awarded €5,000.
Ms Maher claimed the board of management at Coláiste Chiaráin in Leixlip, Co Kildare, was biased against her when she applied for the post of assistant principal (acting) in September 2003. The position later went to a male colleague.
The complainant felt she was discriminated against on the basis of the overall gender imbalance in senior posts in the school, the general culture in the school, and the conduct of the competition for the post in the school.