In 2001, the Labour Court upheld a finding that the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform had not discriminated against Ms Maura Clarke, Ms Una Kelly and Ms Sadie McGovern in a Land Registry promotion competition. The determination was dated 3 May 2001, and the Union’s appeal on their behalf failed.
The three Examiners argued that gender explained their lower marks in a competition for Examiner-in-Charge positions. Eight appointments were made: seven went to men and one to a woman. The Court found that women’s average marks were lower, but the small, one-off sample was not reliable enough to establish discrimination. It also had no evidence of a continuing pattern in earlier promotion competitions.
The Court concluded that the statistics did not provide sufficient evidence to establish discrimination and upheld the Equality Officer’s finding. The claimants were represented by the Irish Municipal, Public and Civil Trade Union.