The Irish Times is reporting that Dublin college DCU will only consider women candidates for three academic positions it is currently advertising.
The jobs – which are in Saudi Arabia – are for a lecturer in data analytics, an adjunct lecturer in advanced practice nursing, and an assistant professor in marketing.
All of the successfully chosen candidates will teach at Princess Nourah bint Abdulrahman University, or PNU, the world’s largest women-only college.
The job advertisement says that: “In line with a genuine occupational requirement, only female applicants can be considered for this role.”
The Department of Education said the university “was established by the kingdom of Saudi Arabia and, as such, adheres to the kingdom’s laws, culture and customs. It is a requirement within PNU that only female academic staff teach the female student populace . . . which DCU must meet in order to deliver the programmes.”
DCU’s partnership with the college began in 2012 when it sent academics from its business school to teach students in Riyadh for a four-year period.