News

New benchmark report: Integrating the gender dimension into research and innovation

GENDERACTIONplus has conducted a benchmarking report to evaluate existing policies and measures integrating the gender dimension into research and innovation (R&I). The analysis is based on survey responses from 20 Research Funding Organizations (RFOs) and 15 national authorities. The benchmarking report shows that there is a need for clear communication to distinguish gender dimension in R&I from general gender equality policies, as confusion persists among stakeholders. Only 20 % of national authorities have specific policies for integrating sex/gender analysis into R&I content, while 60 % of RFOs have adopted such policies. The most common measure for promoting the gender dimension in R&I content is requiring applicants to specify sex/gender considerations in their proposals. Monitoring and evaluating the implementation of these policies remains largely overlooked by national authorities and RFOs. Promising practices highlighted include comprehensive policies by RFOs such as Vinnova (Sweden), AEI (Spain), and TACR (Czech Republic), as well as...

ERA of Inclusive Gender Equality conference: How we maintained the Momentum in Brussels

In celebration of the International Day of Girls and Women in Science, ERA of Inclusive Gender Equality conference took stage at BOSA, Brussels on 13 February 2024. The event attracted over 60 attendees in person, with a substantial online audience joining remotely. The conference was organised by the Horizon Europe GENDERACTIONplus project under the auspices of the Belgian Presidency of the Council of the EU. The conference convened key stakeholders to deliberate on future priorities for inclusive gender equality in the European Research Area (ERA), leveraging insights from GENDERACTIONplus benchmark studies and a position paper drafted to inform the debates about further actions and measures. The position paper identifies current challenges, states our ultimate goals for advancing inclusive gender equality in ERA, and provides a framework for shaping future policies. It focuses on issues of intersectionality and inclusiveness, gender-based violence in research and innovation, the integration of inclusive gender dimension...

Keeping the Momentum. ERA of Inclusive Gender Equality conference is coming

ERA of Inclusive Gender Equality Keeping the Momentum, Addressing Challenges through Joint Action The conference is organised by Horizon Europe GENDERACTIONplus project under the auspices of the Belgian Presidency of the Council of the EU  Date: 13 February 2024 from 9:00 am CET to 5:00 pm CETVenue: BOSA, WTCIII building, 30 rue Simon Bolivar, 1000 Brussels, Belgium The conference will be streamed for online attendance.  Please follow this link in case you are attending the conference online. The conference will bring together relevant stakeholders to discuss the future priorities for inclusive gender equality in the European Research Area. This will be done against the backdrop of the results of GENDERACTIONplus benchmark studies on gender equality policy implementation in European research, which have identified ongoing challenges and gaps and highlighted advances achieved in recent years. The debates will highlight the need for advancing intersectional and inclusive approaches to gender equality policy,...

GENDERACTIONplus consultation gathers stakeholder insights across Europe on national Gender Equality Plan monitoring guidelines

The EU-funded GENDERACTIONplus project recently hosted its second stakeholder engagement event on 29 November 2023 to gather input and feedback on draft guidelines for establishing Gender Equality Plan (GEP) monitoring systems at the national level. Representatives of national authorities from 14 European countries actively participated in the online consultation, sharing valuable insights, needs and challenges. Developed by partners within the GENDERACTIONplus project, the guidelines aim to provide concrete guidance on how to set up an effective monitoring system at the national authority level to monitor GEP implementation. Incorporating multiple levels of proposed monitoring, they are designed to meet the needs of both Member States and Associated Countries at different stages of national gender equality policy implementation, where GEPs are a mandatory state requirement as well as where they are not. Following an introduction to the GENDERACTIONplus project and draft guidelines by Dr Jennie Rothwell, Senior Manager of the Centre of...

Monitoring ERA Action 5 on inclusive gender equality implementation

A total of 18 Member States have committed to ERA Action 5, focusing on gender equality and inclusiveness: Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Lithuania, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Slovenia, Spain and Sweden. While the description of what is expected from those MS is more detailed than in the previous ERA period, there is no requirement to formulate a national action plan to implement those actions. As a consequence, little is known about the MS priorities, objectives and planned or implemented measures. This information is crucial not only for the development of a shared understanding of gender equality concepts and for defining collective goals but also for mutual learning based on the exchange of good practices. For this reason, the first GENDERACTIONplus report on monitoring the implementation of ERA GE policies. It first presents the development of gender equality objectives in the ERA, including a...

Workshop on gender-based violence and sexual harassment in Milan

The 4th Mutual Learning Workshop of the RFO CoP on Gender-Based Violence (GBV) and Sexual Harassment (SH) took place on 14-15 September at the premises of our partner FFRB in Milan. 25 representatives of beneficiary and associate partners, as well as members of the National Science Foundation (NSF, USA), participated in this on-site event. The aim of the workshop was to discuss strategies and create new solutions on how RFOs can contribute to the mitigation of GBV in the ERA. It also aimed to strengthen collaboration between RFO CoP members and the NSF. After a warm welcome from the hosts, Paola Bello (FFRB), Helene Schiffbänker (JR), Sophia Ivarsson (Vinnova) and Fredrik Bondestam (UGOT), members of the NSF presented their experiences with implementing policies to mitigate GBV. They emphasised the role of RFOs in the responsible use of taxpayers’ money by holding research organisations accountable for implementing policies to reduce GBV....

Advancing inclusive institutional change: GEP monitoring and evaluation practices across the ERA

The fourth benchmarking analysis conducted by GENDERACTOINplus depicts the current landscape for GEP requirements in R&I at national/regional level. It provides an overview of the overall policy framework on GEP requirement concerning ERA stakeholders and presents relevant policy developments, mainly targeting national authorities. Building on the survey responses from 15 national authorities (including 2 from Belgium), the benchmark analysis shows that: Read more in the Benchmarking analysis and assessment report how MS monitor/evaluate institutional change through GEPs.

Guidelines for sex/gender analysis. How are we doing in Europe?

The third benchmarking analysis conducted by GENDERACTOINplus looks into the existing policies and measures for integrating the gender dimension into the content of R&I and teaching in 21 countries across the ERA. It highlights promising practices and recommends actions for policy development. Building on the survey responses from 20 RFOs and 15 national authorities responsible for research andinnovation and higher education, the benchmark analysis shows that: You can find more, including recommendations on how to improve the situation, in the Benchmarking and assessment report on guidelines for sex/gender analysis – yet to be approved.

National authorities and RFOs on gender-based violence

Our second benchmark report presents a state-of-the-art analysis of the current policy development on gender-based violence in the European Research Area. It provides a comprehensive research review and policy analysis. The research described in the global section is heavily dominated by the USA, and the research described in the ERA differs in terms of content and thematic focus. For instance, bystander initiatives are frequently examined in the research review but are addressed only in one of the articles addressing the ERA. Another thematic difference is the focus on prevention and prevalence whereas the ERA articles focus, to a higher degree, on relationship violence between students. There is also a strong focus on students’ experiences of gender-based violence and its weak relation to the development of higher education infrastructure for the prevention of gender-based violence. Samples predominantly consist of majority group students, and lack diversity and intersectional perspectives. Also, research on...

Being Black in the academy

A collection of Campus resources and views provides actions that can be taken to improve diversity and belonging for Black staff and students, advice for Black academics on navigating the career ladder, tips for creating an anti-racist university and more. Navigating higher education as a racial minority can be fraught. Still, for Black men and women, often the least represented minority group in an institution, the academy can be especially isolating and unwelcoming. Students, staff and academics at every career level report suffering impostor syndrome, have seen their careers stalled by conscious or unconscious bias and are often overburdened with unpaid labour on EDI initiatives. Be inspired by what can be done to improve the situation by thetimeshighereducation.com.