Project description
Empowering female research talent through a gender equality infrastructure
Statistics and academic literature show that despite the continuous efforts to advance gender equality in academia and in research over the last two decades, there is still much work to be done. To address this challenge, the EU-funded ATHENA project will focus on the implementation of Gender Equality Plans (GEPs) in six research performing and two research funding organisations. ATHENA will seek to eliminate the existing obstacles to the recruitment, retention and career progression of female researchers and to address gender imbalances in decision-making processes. The project aspires to contribute to the required comprehensive cultural change for the avoidance of future gender bias and discriminatory practices.
Objective
One of the main objectives of Europe’s societies is the elimination of all types of discrimination associated with gender. Despite a high number of highly skilled female graduates, there is still very few of them embracing a research career. With almost 60% of women graduates in EU, only one third of the EU’s researchers are women. In this context, ATHENA project aims at removing barriers to the recruitment, retention and career progression of female researchers; address gender imbalances in decision making processes and generate a cultural change needed to avoid future gender bias and discriminatory practices through the implementation of Gender Equality Plans (GEPs) in 6 Research Performing and 2 Research Funding organisations. These targeted organisations belong to Central Eastern EU countries and EU outermost regions that show some of the lowest Gender Equality Indexes in the EU. Thanks to the implementation of the GEPs, ATHENA will contribute to unlocking the research potential of these organisations thus improving the overall performance of the European Research Area and helping to close the innovation divide by avoiding the waste of talent and inefficient use of skilled women from weaker regions of the EU. To ensure systemic institutional change, ATHENA will first conduct an assessment of procedures and practices already in place in partner RPOs and RFOs, together with an analysis of the national legislation and policy frameworks. In parallel, it will put in place a participatory process aimed, on one side, to understand the needs and the preferences of the stakeholders and, on the other side, to train them with regard to selected topics related to gender. Based on these two approaches GEPs will be drafted, implemented and monitored in each partner organisation.
Programme(s)
- H2020-EU.5.b. - Promote gender equality in particular by supporting structural change in the organisation of research institutions and in the content and design of research activities Main Programme
- H2020-EU.5.f. - Develop the governance for the advancement of responsible research and innovation by all stakeholders, which is sensitive to society needs and demands and promote an ethics framework for research and innovation
Topic(s)
Funding Scheme
CSA - Coordination and support actionCoordinator
35006 LAS PALMAS DE GRAN CANARIA
Spain
The organization defined itself as SME (small and medium-sized enterprise) at the time the Grant Agreement was signed.