Act Now to Support Gender Equality: Sign the Open Letter to Commissioner-Designate Zaharieva
Building a more inclusive ERA: Calling for Stronger Intersectional Policies in EU Research
On 22 October, the European Commission released a communication on the European Research Area (ERA), emphasizing the need for more inclusive gender equality plans. GENDERACTIONplus supports this recommendation and, in its position paper A New ERA of Inclusion and Intersectionality, highlights the key gaps and delivers recommendations to address them. Four years ago, the Commission adopted a Communication titled ‘A new ERA for Research and Innovation’ which described a new vision for a stronger European Research Area (ERA). In its latest communication, titled Implementation of the European Research Area (ERA) and published on 22 October, the Commission reflects on progress made and identifies areas for improvement. In relation to the ERA priority of inclusive gender equality, the Commission acknowledges that there is “Scope for stronger action to develop inclusive gender equality plans and policies that address intersecting inequalities and discrimination on the grounds of gender, gender orientation, ethnicity, age, sexual...
Act Now to Support Gender Equality: Sign the Open Letter to Commissioner-Designate Zaharieva
On 18 September 2024 European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen presented her Political Guidelines for the next European Commission and new Commissioners-Designates. The new Commissioners are expected to begin their term on 1 December 2024. As we prepare for this transition, we want to ensure that the important progress made in recent years promoting gender equality in research and innovation at the Commission level continues. In the current political landscape, support for gender equality is at risk of backsliding and erasure by “simplification”. While we commend the Commissioner-Designate’s answers to the Parliament’s Questionnaire to the Commissioner-Designate which demonstrate her intentions to sustain gender equality efforts in R&I, we must continue working to expand gender equality policies and ensure that these policies incorporate inclusivity and intersectional perspectives. To achieve this, we are organizing an open letter urging the Commissioner to support inclusive gender equality in R&I, specifically in the upcoming...
EU GENDERACTIONplus hosts stakeholder consultation on inclusive gender analysis in research and innovation
On 1 October, the EU GENDERACTIONplus project hosted a stakeholder engagement event to gather global perspectives on the topic of inclusive gender analysis in research and innovation. Representatives from 13 countries, including research funding organisations (RFOs) from both Europe and North America, joined the online event to discuss innovative strategies for promoting inclusive and intersectional gender analysis in research with a view to informing European policy advice. The event opened with an introduction to the GENDERACTIONplus project by Marcela Linková, Project Coordinator and Head of the Centre for Gender and Science at the Czech Academy of Sciences. This was followed by an overview of EU policy on the integration of the gender dimension in R&I content by Katerina Svickova, Head of Sector for Gender in the European Commission’s Directorate General for Research and Innovation. In particular, she highlighted the ways in which inclusive gender analysis is addressed within Horizon Europe...
GENDERACTIONplus stakeholder consultation promotes policy dialogue on inclusive research careers
Inclusive research careers were the focal point of a GENDERACTIONplus stakeholder engagement event held on Monday 30 September. Thirty-five representatives from European and national organisations within the R&I eco-system actively participated in the online consultation, providing valuable feedback on draft policy recommendations developed by partners within the EU GENDERACTIONplus project. Some of the participants at the GENDERACTIONplus online consultation on inclusive research careers The policy recommendations ‘Research careers: the ground for gender+ inclusion’ aim to promote a more inclusive approach to research careers across Europe, encouraging systemic changes that embrace diversity, gender equality, and the elimination of structural barriers. The event brought together a wider range of stakeholders addressed by the policy recommendations, including European policy makers, national authorities, research funding organisations (RFOs), research performing organisations (RPOs) and higher education institutions (HEIs). Setting the stage: A collaborative approach The event began with an introduction to the GENDERACTIONplus project by Marcela...
Our objectives
1
Develop strategic policy advice on existing and emerging policy solutions in the five key thematic areas in the two Communities of Practice.
2
Enhance the policymaking process through engaging with stakeholders, CSOs and citizens, as relevant, in the five key areas.
3
Build capacities, competence and expertise for gender equality and mainstreaming in R&I, with special attention to countries with a less comprehensive policy.
4
Create impact through communication, dissemination and exploitation, including National Impact Plans and an EU impact plan.
Communities of Practice
Two Communities of Practice are active in GENDERACTIONplus, working to build shared understandings and insight; enable policy dialogue and practice on emerging topics; stimulate capacity building through mutual learning, mentoring and self-reflection, benchmark and diffuse existing knowledge. All this is geared toward designing policy solutions, achieving policy coordination and, ultimately, generating policy change.
The Community of Practice of Research Funding Organisations (the RFO CoP) is led by Vinnova, in close collaboration with Joanneum. The Community of national authorities (the Policy CoP) is co-led by the Institute of Sociology of the Czech Academy of Sciences and South Denmark University. The two CoPs organise bimonthly meetings for peer support and mentoring and organise online and onsite mutual learning workshops for the development of practical strategies and skills.
Intersectionality and inclusiveness
We wil explore the use of terminology, existing policies and practices on intersectionality, diversity and inclusiveness in research and innovation in the ERA, and ensure that the gender+ perspective is mainstreamed into GENDERACTIONplus topics.
We aim at policy coordination and capacity building on gender-based violence and sexual harassment in Research Funding Organisations, Research Performing Organisations and national authorities, through policy benchmarking and targeted mutual learning and development of strategic policy advice.
Gender-based violence
Gender dimension in R&I
We will enhance policy coordination across the EU Member States and Associated Countries to advance the gender dimension in research and innovation from an intersectional perspective through the whole cycle of research and innovation funding.
We will provide indicators for monitoring the implementation of inclusive gender equality policies at the national level. Presented through a dashboard on the project website, indicators will be advanced, and will complement the ERA scoreboard and the ERA monitoring.
Monitoring and evaluation of GE actions
Promoting institutional change
We will develop a system for monitoring and evaluating the implementation and impact of Gender Equality Plans in order to support institutional change as the main instrument to promote inclusive gender equality in the new ERA.
Outputs
- Policy mapping and benchmarking
- Strategic policy advice
- Mutual learning and capacity building
- ERA stakeholder and citizen engagement