Gender balance for research excellence
Efforts related to the European Research Area (ERA) and recognition of its potential to contribute to Europe’s knowledge economy heightened awareness of the value of gender equality. This is especially important as research excellence requires accessibility, resources and advancement opportunities, and innovation needs diverse perspectives and inputs. The 'Transforming organisational culture for gender equality in research and innovation' (GENOVATE) project brings together a diverse consortium whose members are concentrated on women engaged in research. They identified three common areas for intervention: recruitment, progression and research support; working environment, work/life balance and institutional culture; and standards and diversity in research excellence and innovation. Each partner university will work in these areas through their individually tailored GEAPs, building on existing structures and policies or developing new systems and practices. GENOVATE has met its goals for the first reporting period. At the institutional level, GEAP implementation utilised the GENOVATE Action Research Cycle and Process. This is comprised of five overlapping stages covering review and refinement of current GEAP, mapping and taking actions, evaluating actions, and specifying learning. This helped partners review and update their institutional GEAPs. Implementation activities include GENOVATE launches, National Learning Circles and dissemination activities. Contextualised committees and targeted management boards have also been established. GEAP implementation supports long-term quality assurance as well as gender equality. Data from various strategy documents and reports have also helped refine equality monitoring structures. Other project work to date includes improving on a social model of gender equality implementation. This is being further developed through experiences and guided reflections on the process of change at each partner institution. The GENOVATE Community has facilitated meaningful knowledge exchange across the consortium. Shared learning has also contributed to progress, and training evaluation seminars have been delivered to partner institutions. The project's website also serves as a central tool for purposes of communication and dissemination. Ongoing work through the GENOVATE project is slated to deliver tangible and measurable results for attracting, recruiting and advancing women in research, at all levels of seniority. The positive outcomes will extend beyond individual institutions and their improved environments to the European academic research sector for overall societal benefit.
Keywords
Research excellence, gender equality, Gender Equality Action Plans, universities, organisational culture
