Marie Curie Actions: Inspiring Researchers - Imdea

Focusing the gender lensThe ‘Migrant Children’ project did not only focus on an understudiedfi eld of research; it also provided a boost to a relativelyneglected researcher population: women. The team was made upof a female team leader, Dr Ní Laoire, two female team membersand one male team member. ‘This represents a considerablefemale presence in light of the general under-representation ofwomen in research in Europe,’ notes Dr Ní Laoire.The rationale behind this, she explains, was ‘for reasons ofequal opportunities as well as to achieve gender balance inthe conduct of the research, as gender is a core dimension tothe experiences of migrant children and youth’.In addition to regular statutory requirements and the university’sown equal opportunities policies, a ‘gender lens’ was usedin the recruitment process, from the way applications wereprocessed to the selection panel. ‘In effect, this meant recognisingand taking account of the different impacts of the structuringcharacteristics of research careers on males and females,’sums up Dr Ní Laoire.And the experience of working on the project has been invaluableto her team. ‘Being part of a Marie Curie Excellence Teamhas given me valuable experience of conducting research inanother national context from where I gained my education,’asserts Naomi Bushin, a Marie Curie Fellow who worked on theMigrant Children project. ‘I have developed strong internationalresearch links, acquired new skills, contributed to knowledge inan under-researched area and enhanced my research profi le.’Dr Bushin, who graduated from the University of Wales, iscurrently focusing her research efforts on the experiences ofchildren and young people who have moved from central andeastern European countries to Ireland.Project acronymMigrant ChildrenFull project titleChildren’s and young people’s experiencesof immigration and integration in Irish societyType of grantExcellence TeamBudgetEUR 1.2 millionDuration of project01-10-2005 - 30-09-2009Scientific disciplineSociologyLead partnerDr Caitríona Ní LaoireDepartment of GeographyUniversity College CorkIE-CorkE-mail: c.nilaoire@ucc.ie167