Sir, – Mary Twomey (August 10th) states that it is “incredible and unacceptable in the academic world in 2018 that no gender balance has been achieved etc” stating how 50 years ago UCD boasted five outstanding women scientists who were feted both nationally and internationally at the time. Yet she goes on to say that “It would be undesirable to appoint women on gender quota basis. Meritocracy has to reign supreme at all times.”
I believe that we have outstanding women in our academic world today who have not been promoted because there is gender bias, both unconscious and conscious; and until we have a quota system in place to achieve gender balance, we will be reading letters 50 years from now stating the lack of a gender balance in our academic and other worlds of work. – Yours, etc,
ELLEN O’MALLEY DUNLOP,
Chairperson,
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National Women’s Council of Ireland,
Smithfield, Dublin 7.