University of Gdansk plans gender equality measures for 2022-2023

On Monday 20 June, we welcome you to an international workshop on gender equality in research performing organisations, focusing on strategies, negotiation and sustainability. The event is organised together with the LeTSGEPs project and will take place both in Belgrade and online. The event his hosted by the Mathematical Institute of Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts (MI SANU) and University of Belgrade, School of Electrical Engineering, partner in both projects. 

Last week, MINDtheGEPs organised a two day training workshop to build capacity for sustainable change in partner organisations. Between 7-8 June, Around 50 people met in Vigo to discuss basic concepts and tools to promote organisational change, and how situated knowledge can support the implementation of gender equality plans.  

Working from home puts stress on families, and affects men and women in different ways. Preliminary data from a qualitative study on working conditions in academia during the pandemic from the Jagiellonian University were presented at the recent Social Boundaries of Work international conference held in Lublin, Poland. The data indicates that Polish academics experience ambivalences that stem from competing demands for them as professionals and care givers.

University of Gdansk is introducing and monitoring the implementation of an antidiscrimination policy, building an academic community based on a science culture of equality and devising and implementing a coherent system for monitoring progress made in the direction of gender equality. According to the MINDtheGEPs team at University of Gdansk, the gender equality plan is an important part of the university’s strategy for 2020-2025. 

Our detailed and diverse approach to data collection uses a mix of qualitative and quantitative instruments at national, organisational and individual level (what the researchers call macro, meso, and micro level). Partners have put in a lot of work. Both the core teams at each partner organisation and the administrative officers involved to support their work. Learn all about it in our latest newsletter! 

MINDtheGEPs partners share the common challenge of modifying their institutions. This includes taking action to counteract the structures and cultures that currently uphold gender imbalances in each partner organisation. This will be achieved by implementing gender equality plans. And for those plans to work out, we need capacity-building on gender equality within partner organisations. The 7 MINDtheGEPs partners implementing gender equality plans will offer training in their organisation. In June, we meet in Vigo, Spain, to transfer knowledge between partners, and educate our respective local trainers to ensure a common vision. 

MINDtheGEPs is made up of many different kinds of research organisations: public and private, big and small, STEM and SSH. All embedded in different national and regional contexts. According to Cristina Solera, MINDtheGEPs coordinator and professor of Sociology at the Department of Cultures, Politics and Society at the University of Turin, the MINDtheGEPs gender audits have allowed us to figure out our differences and similarities. 

Gender is performed at all levels and in all parts of an organisation. To capture how inequalities are formed and reproduced, we need many different kinds of data. MINDtheGEPs is about to conclude its data collection process. We have looked at the national, organisational and individual levels, using qualitative and quantitative methods, at seven partner organisations. We talked to MINDtheGEPs coordinator Cristina Solera about the findings so far. 

The pandemic forced a reorganisation of work. With researchers and teachers working from home, many universities found themselves facing new challenges. As did their staff. The results from a large online survey study from members of the MINDtheGEPs team at University of Turin reveals the realities of 6 000+ people working at Italian universities forced to work from home during the pandemic, and the real-life consequences of the pandemic on work in the academy. 

MINDtheGEPs partners share the common challenge of modifying their institutions. With our detailed and diverse approach to data collection, with a mix of qualitative and quantitative instruments at national, organisational and individual level (what the researchers call macro, meso, and micro level), partners have put in a lot of work. Both the core teams at each partner organisation and the administrative officers involved to support their work. But neither data collection nor data analyses and policy development are neutral: to design successful Gender Equality Plans (GEPs) for real change, you need a certain vision for gender equality in research. 

MINDtheGEPs is joining forces with Gender-SMART for the third MINDtheGEPs forum. On 28 February, Nathalie Wuiame, a member of the Gender-SMART consortium and Yellow Window trainer, will offer a training on effective policies to prevent gender-based violence and sexual harassment in research organisations. 

Today, 11 February, is the International Day of Women and Girls in Science. We celebrated by sending our first project newsletter to show how MINDtheGEPs unites 10 organisations working to create the prerequisites for women and girls to become and exceed as researchers and innovators. 

On 11 February we celebrate the International Day of Women and Girls in Science by joining our fellow sister projects in a campaign sharing stories to encourage women and girls to pursue a career in research and innovation. We invite you to join us under #DreamItBeIt! 

We are proud to announce that professor Ewa Łojkowska, who leads the MINDtheGEPs work at University of Gdańsk, has been awarded the Johannes Hevelius Award 2021 of the City of Gdańsk in life science. This is the most important scientific distinction in Pomerania, and it was awarded to Ewa Łojkowska for her outstanding scientific achievements in the field of phytopathology, especially genetics and diagnostics of bacterial plant pathogens.

The European Commission is launching a new expert group on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on gender equality in European research and innovation. The group’s mission will be delivering a study on the pandemic and its containment measures on different aspects of gender equality. Looking at the institutional, national and EU levels. MINDtheGEPs consortium member Lucio Pisacane is joining the work. 

We are celebrating the holiday season by sharing the MINDtheGEPs project video in five different languages. Showing the diversity of our consortium that unites 10 partners from 7 EU countries in the quest to close the gender gap in research and innovation. Ensuring work-life balance for all, and increasing women's participation in research!

As part of the SEA-EU alliance (European University of the Seas), University of Gdańsk organised an online experts panel on implementing gender equality plans in academia with University of Cádiz, Spain; Université de Bretagne Occidentale in Brest, France; University of Kiel, Germany; University of Split, Croatia; and University of Malta, Malta. The recording is now available and features several MINDtheGEPs members. 

More and more women are choosing research careers. But despite this, women are still underrepresented as authors of peer-reviewed papers, leaders and in top positions at research institutions. We work to change this pattern. 10 MINDtheGEPs partners will spend 4 years changing structure and changing culture to achieve gender equality in research. We have described this vision in our recently launched project video. 

On 29 September 2021, Maxime Forest joined our second MINDtheGEPs forum to talk about framing and institutionalising change and what the path towards sustainable gender equality plans might look like. Covering the pre-requisites, or drivers, and principles for effective structural change. 

The University of Gdańsk is the largest university in the Pomorskie Region of Poland. The University of Gdańsk has been implementing structural change for several years through the realization of numerous projects from HORIZON 2020, like STARBIOS2 and RESBIOS, referring to responsible research and sustainable development goals. In a recently launched video series, MINDtheGEPs colleagues share their experiences. 

Gender equality in higher education and research policy is given increasing attention as the data confirms persisting gender inequalities in science. Also, researchers themselves demand more engagement on the level of organisations for assuring equal treatment of all employees. At the same time institutional commitment to assuring gender equality becomes a prerequisite for prestigious awards, like HR Excellence in Research, and an eligibility criterion for Horizon Europe grants. Moreover, the new European Research Area Communication underlines both the need to continue efforts to address gender gaps, and to address the intersectionality and diversity in science.

With their help from MINDtheGEPs partner CTAG – Automotive Technology Centre of Galicia, a private non-profit research centre located in Galicia in northwest Spain, we have been able to translate the MINDtheGEPs project flyer to Spanish! Now available for download! 

MINDtheGEPS will reduce gender imbalances in European research institutions and generate data to support the development of national and European policy for gender equality in research performing organisations. Our project flyer & key areas infographic are now available for download! 

16 June 2021 RELX, Elsevier, and MINDtheGEPs brought together leading experts from the world of policy, research, and education to discuss Europe’s road to gender equality, and what we can learn from the European leader – Portugal. The recordings from this event are now available. 

On 22 June 2021, we held our first MINDtheGEPs forum. Keynote speaker Flavia Zucco spoke on moving from discrimination to successful inclusion and the specificities of discrimination in science, and mechanisms of discrimination such as stereotypes about women and science, evaluation criteria, resource allocation, transparency, and family burdens.

Disaster scholars are starting to take a critical stance on the way disaster research is conducted, inclusiveness in research, and diversity of participants and researchers. MINDtheGEPs researchers Serena Tagliacozzo and Ilaria Di Tullio recently published a paper on how gender equality plans can be used as a framework for gender equality measures for disaster research. 

How can strategic interventions and gender equality plans help deliver gender equality in Europe? In terms of women in research, Portugal is one of the best performing EU countries. On 16 June, we organise a webinar with ELSEVIER. Starting from the Portuguese experience, experts from Portugal, EU institutions and the research community will come together to discuss lessons learned and the necessary steps to take to achieve greater gender equality. And what more the EU can do to deliver a gender-balanced research industry.  

GE Academy is a Horizon 2020 project developing and implementing a high-quality capacity-building programme on gender equality in research, innovation and higher education. This spring semester they are offering a series of online training opportunities for those engaged in gender equality and the development of gender equality plans. Topics include the open access Gender Equality and Monitoring (GEAM) tool for gender audits and intersectionality. 

Connected to the MINDtheGEPs kick-off meeting on 4-5 March 2021, we organised a public seminar on gender transformation in academia. Coordinating organisation University of Turin’s Research Center for Women's and Gender Studies (CIRSDe) hosted the seminar, with invited guests Fulvio Esposito, Pauline Stoltz and Barbara J. Risman. Couldn’t be there? Don’t worry, we were recording! 

MINDtheGEPs will use the European Institute for Gender Equality's toolkit for toolkit for Gender Equality in Academia and Research, also known as GEAR. As part of our work to understand the context where gender equality plans will be implemented, our partners will compile gender data and strengthen governance structures  Want to know more about the GEAR toolkit?

The MINDtheGEPs project is kicking off with a session on Gender Transformations in the Academy: Using Gender Structure Theory to Identify Challenges and Solutions. Barbara J. Risman from the University of illinois will give a keynote talk. Want to take part? Join the University of Turin on Facebook at 16:00!

Gender data and strong governance are central to MINDtheGEPs and our gender action plans. Gender data will help us identify the actions that are needed to reduce gender gaps. During the course of the project, we will also set up a portal to make gender data accessible.

A new European research project prepares the ground for structural changes to promote gender equality in public and private research organisations. Led by the University of Turin, the four-year MINDtheGEPs project will identify good practice and help shape measures to reduce gender imbalances in seven research institutions and generate data to support the development of national and European policy for gender equality in research performing organisations.