Carlow College, St. Patrick’s has successfully secured renewal of its Athena Swan Institutional Bronze Award, recognising the College’s ongoing commitment to advancing equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI) across all aspects of college life.
The successful renewal follows the submission of a comprehensive application in the April 2026 Athena Swan application round. The application was coordinated and compiled by the College’s Self-Assessment Team (SAT), a dedicated sub-group of the College’s EDI Team, drawing on the collective contribution of staff, students and stakeholders from across the institution.
The Athena Swan panel noted the award renewal comes in a period of significant change as the College enters a two-year programme completion period. Despite the challenges and uncertainty associated with such organisational change, the Athena Swan assessment panel commended Carlow College for maintaining a strong and sustained commitment to equality, diversity and inclusion.
In its feedback, the panel noted that the submission demonstrated “a sustained commitment to EDI during a period of significant institutional change” and highlighted clear evidence that EDI is embedded within institutional structures and supported through a broad range of initiatives addressing gender equality and wider inclusion objectives.
The panel also acknowledged the “considerable effort involved in progressing Athena Swan work and developing a future action plan during a period of organisational uncertainty”.
Among the areas specifically commended by the panel were:
- The establishment of the Civic Engagement Hub, which has strengthened opportunities for community engagement and civic participation.
- The renaming of College spaces to celebrate prominent women and provide visible role models for staff and students. Through a consultative process involving both staff and students, three spaces were renamed: Iris Murdoch Hall, Nan Joyce Room and the Eavan Boland Creative Space.
- The development and implementation of the College’s Gender Identity and Expression Policy for staff and students, which formally recognises and supports gender diversity.
- The College’s widening EDI activity across a range of equality areas, including Traveller ethnicity awareness initiatives, anti-racism programmes, gender-based violence awareness campaigns, and participation in the Ask for Angela initiative.
- Collaborative approaches to EDI, including the effective use of partnerships and a “train the trainer” model to maximise impact and reach.
- The review of the College’s Workload Allocation Policy, which now formally recognises civic engagement activities within workload allocation processes.
- Ongoing support for LGBTQ+ students and staff, reflected in College publications, student-led initiatives, annual events marking International Transgender Day of Visibility and International Transgender Day of Remembrance, support for World AIDS Day, and the College’s longstanding involvement with Carlow Pride Festival.
- Positive staff survey results demonstrating a strong culture of respect and inclusion. The 2024 Staff Survey found that 83% of respondents agreed that the College promotes clear values and expectations regarding how people should behave towards one another, a significant increase from 55% recorded in 2020.
Commenting on the achievement, Fr Conn Ó Maoldhomhnaigh, College President, said:
“We are delighted to receive renewal of our Athena Swan Institutional Bronze Award. This recognition reflects the dedication and commitment of our staff, students and the members of our EDI and Self-Assessment Teams who have worked tirelessly to embed equality, diversity and inclusion across the College community.
It demonstrates our unwavering commitment to fostering an inclusive environment where everyone feels valued, respected and supported. We are proud of the progress made to date and remain committed to implementing the actions set out in our renewed Athena Swan Action Plan.”
Agnita Kenny, Chair of the EDI Team, added:
“The renewal process provided an important opportunity to reflect on the progress achieved since our original award and to identify areas where we can continue to improve. We are particularly grateful to the staff and students who contributed their experiences, feedback and ideas throughout the process. EDI is an ongoing journey, and this award renewal reinforces our commitment to continuing that work.”
The renewed Athena Swan Bronze Award recognises both the progress achieved by Carlow College and its commitment to maintaining momentum through the implementation of a new action plan designed to further advance equality, diversity and inclusion in the years ahead.
The College’s action plan has been published on the College website and will act as a framework to continuing to support staff and students through EDI initiatives over the next two years.