Pioneering women professors punch big holes in the glass ceiling at DCU

The hole rudely punched in DCU's glass ceiling last year, when Dr Pat Barker was appointed registrar, has been considerably widened in the past few months. The recent appointment of four female professors has enriched the previously masculine atmosphere on the upper side of the ceiling with the heady scent of girl-power. However, the ceiling remains in place, and may do so for some years to come, albeit in less than pristine condition. This is not a phenomenon peculiar to DCU but is rather a staple of academic life in most institutions in Ireland and beyond.

DCU's recent appointments are Professor Jenny Williams, school of applied languages and intercultural studies; Professor Kathy Monks, dean of the business school; Professor Heather Ruskin, school of computer applications; and Professor Anne Scott, professor and head of nursing.

Barker recalls the genesis of DCU in the NIHE: "In 1980 there were a couple of portakabins, one portaloo. Everything was growing so rapidly, gender equality was not part of our agenda. In the first year, there were 54 students. It was later, on reflection, we realised how gender-imbalanced it was on the academic side.

"The position at DCU reflected the position across universities, industry and society. We had to take positive steps to persuade management, which was male-dominated, and didn't perceive that there was a problem."

All of the newly appointed professors has been active in research, churning out publications in peer-reviewed journals. Pat Barker and Kathy Monks's research has often taken the same path, with some joint publications in the area of gender equity in the accounting, business and human resource fields. Last year, the two women co-authored a book entitled Flexible Working Practices in Accountancy Firms.

Pat Barker is a sailing instructor turned accountant turned senior lecturer and now first woman registrar of DCU. The 20th woman in Ireland to qualify as a chartered accountant, her career began in the quaintly-named "Counting House" at Harrods. After a stint in the University of Manchester, she joined the newly-born NIHE, with its few students and far-fewer toilets. Today, DCU has more than 11,000 students, and a more-or-less appropriate number of permanent loos.

Jenny Williams holds a PhD from Queen's University, Belfast, in medieval studies, and comes to her current position via a lectureship in German in UU and a senior lectureship in German in DCU.

Kathy Monks is a graduate of UCD and TCD and a fellow of the Institute of Personnel and Development. One of the founders of the Irish Academy of Management, she is now its secretary. And, if that's not enough to keep her amused, she is dean of research in DCU's business school and chairs the MBS in human resource strategies.

Anne Scott's research and clinical interests include the philosophy and ethics of health care and nursing practice, clinical judgment and decision making, and the influence of humanities in healthcare practice. A graduate of TCD, and the universities of Glasgow and Edinburgh, she is a member of the governing body of DCU and a member of the board of governors of St Vincent's Hospital, Fairview.

Heather Ruskin's research in the area of statistical science is applicable to a wide range of area including physics, chemistry, biostatistics and epidemiology. She has worked on creating statistical models of everything from ISDN transmissions to the transmission of HIV and it progression to AIDS in Ireland.

Jenny Williams, who was the first woman to receive the DCU President's Research Award, has published in the fields of translation studies, second-language acquisition and German studies. Her biography of the German writer Hans Fallada provides an insight into the complex relationship between the individual, art and society.

She is currently director of the Research Centre in Textual Studies. And, proving the adage that "if you want to get something done, ask someone who's busy"' she is also co-writing a book on research methodology in translation studies.

EL talked to Barker, Williams and Monks, who are agreed on the importance of finding time in a busy schedule to provide mentoring to young women academics and students. As Jenny Williams says, the appointment of women to senior academic positions are "milestones which go beyond the individual or the group. It sends out signals to the people coming behind."

Punching through the glass ceiling can, on occasions, be a bruising business, but the presence of women in high-profile, often-difficult situations is vital, agrees Pat Barker. Grinning, she says about herself, Williams and Monks: "I don't think any of us are radical feminists. We could probably be described as liberal feminists. We are conscious of the issues. It would be impossible not to be."