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”. The Mission letter for Commissioner-Designate Ekaterina Zaharieva does not address gender equality or inclusiveness, an early warning sign for the challenges ahead. To counter this, we are organizing an open letter urging the Commissioner to support inclusive gender equality in R&I, specifically in the upcoming Framework Programme 10.

We invite you to endorse the letter, which calls for maintaining Gender Equality Plans as an eligibility criterion—a crucial policy for advancing gender equality in research and higher education. The letter will be submitted to the Commissioner with a list of signatories. You may choose to remain anonymous if preferred and your data will be handled in compliance with GDPR. For further details, please contact us.

Join us by signing the letter and sharing it to amplify our message. Together, we can ensure that inclusive gender equality remains a priority in EU research and innovation.