News
A new analysis by the Centre for Gender and Science shows that, as of January 2023, 70 public sector research organisations (i.e., 66%) had a gender equality plan (GEP). Specifically, 71% of higher education institutions and 64% of public research institutions.
The GEPs tend to follow the mandatory minimum requirements the European Commission sets. However, only 34% of organisations conducting research in the Czech Republic’s public sector meet all the mandatory requirements. Although the plans of the higher education institutions are more consistent than those produced by research institutions, they meet the mandatory requirements set by the European Commission with a slightly lower success rate than the research institutions.
The largest increase in the number of GEPs occurred in 2022: while 11 institutions had a GEP in 2021, 69 did in 2022. At the Czech national level, GEPs are now also required by the Czech Science Foundation, which has significantly boosted the motivation of research organisations to implement a GEP.
It should be taken into consideration that most Czech institutions are creating GEP for the first time. Although the level of the plans varies, many of them are of good quality and will underpin further improvements in the functioning of the organisations.
Fingers crossed for the next phase of the GEP implementation to continue successfully!