|**Title: **|**Targets for women award holders and positive action**(( Science Europe (2017): Practical Guide to Improving Gender Equality in Research Organizations; online available at: https://eige.europa.eu/sites/default/files/se_gender_practical-guide.pdf))| |**Implementation**|{{wiki:1.png?nolink}}| |**Field(s) of Action:**|@#A9BCF5: * Presence and Visibility| |**Objectives:**|* To increase the number of female applicants\\ * One of the objectives of the Science Foundation Ireland Gender Strategy 2016-2020(( http://www.sfi.ie/funding/sfi-policies-and-guidance/gender/)) is to achieve a target of 30% women award holders by 2020, against a benchmark of 21% in 2015. Several measures are envisaged in the strategy; however, in 2015 the Starting Investigator Research Grant (SIR G) Award Programme incorporated a gender initiative, ensuring that half of eligible applicants are women.| |**Target Group(s): **|Female candidates| |**Description: **|This gender initiative led to an increase in the number of women applicants from 27% in 2013 to 47% in 2015. As a result of the usual peer-review process, of the 20 proposals awarded in 2015, 55% of awardees were women, compared to only 27% in 2013. Additionally, SFI continues to allow extended eligibility timeframes for applicants who undertook career breaks, and also annually publishes gender-disaggregated data on funded award holders and research team members which inform redressing actions.| |**More information:**|Science Foundation Ireland (SFI) (Ireland)\\ Website: http://www.sfi.ie/|