New report provides insight into experiences of women of colour in rural Southwest Ireland

A major new report provides insights into the experiences of women of colour working in rural communities in the Southwest of Ireland.

The report, funded by the Irish Human Rights Equality Commission (IHREC), was authored by Professor Margaret Linehan of Munster Technological University and Dr Corina Sheerin of the National College of Ireland.

They conducted in-depth interviews with 18 women who hail from countries in Africa, South America, and Asia.

The women are employed in a wide range of industries such as retail, hospitality, the public sector, fashion, technology, and healthcare.

All are highly qualified, and some have been living in Ireland for more than thirty years.

The report showed that these women experience barriers daily on account of their race and gender.

It said that the women spoke of many biases they experienced in their various organisations and of instances of mistreatment relating to their gender, race, ethnicity and religion in the workplace.

Entitled "The Black Ceiling: Employment Experience of Women of Colour in Southwest Ireland", the report also includes interviews with employers. 

It sets out recommendations for employers and policymakers to help overcome overt and covert racism experienced by women of colour in rural Ireland in a bid to create a more inclusive and equitable rural labour market.

In their concluding comments in the report, the authors said that the findings highlight how race and gender challenges are common across all sectors of organisations and how these lead to a cumulative negative impact on women of colour in the workplace. 

Commenting on the new report, Professor Margaret Linehan, Head of the School of Humanities, MTU said: “This is the first time that women of colour in rural Ireland are given an opportunity to describe their lived experiences of seeking employment or being in employment in rural Ireland.

"The report highlights additional barriers these women encounter due to their race and gender, and also provides practical recommendations for employers and policymakers.” 

Dr Corina Sheerin of the National College of Ireland, added: “for most of the women interviewed, microaggressions, unconscious bias and racial and gender discrimination were experienced daily.”