SERC breaks down barriers

South Eastern Regional College (SERC) and Confirm, the Science Foundation Ireland funded research centre for Smart Manufacturing based at the University of Limerick, have secured a €5000 grant to work on a unique project which will address barriers for women in the engineering profession across the island of Ireland.

SERC and Confirm will work on a six-month project, supported by the Community Foundation for Ireland All-Island Fund, to implement an online engagement tool to gather views from females about engineering and barriers to the profession which will be used to inform longer term course and policy.

Darren Anderson, lecturer in mechatronics at SERC said: “Engineering is a male dominated profession, and it is widely agreed that there are numerous barriers discouraging women from joining. However, we know that companies are 15% more likely to perform better if they are gender diverse, and that diversity is crucial for driving innovation, so it makes sense to address the inequality and inform future policy which will support economic growth.”