Seven tailor-made GEPs have been defined and are currently implemented in the partners’ institutions. They integrate and favour gender-sensitive and inclusive practices in policies, processes and daily activities.
Under the theme « Building a Gender Equality Culture » a participatory approach to facilitate each partner in developing its own tailor-made gender equality values together with associated behavioural statements has been defined. Guidelines for Gender Sensitive Management and Communication were also elaborated, providing tools to challenge gender biases, stereotypes and sexism. Good practices in supporting stakeholder mobilisation at all institutional levels were issued to ensure adherence and engagement. Strategic recommendations were elaborated to incorporate and mainstream gender in framework documents, sending as such a clear message about the priorities and culture of the organisation. Within the theme « Developing Career support measures », inclusive and tailor made practices related to recruitment, career progression and work-life balance were designed and implemented. Policies were adopted that reduce bias, prejudice and gaps in the hiring and promotion chain while also raising awareness about the obstacles encountered by women and others facing inequality. A « Typology of Gender Biases in Recruitment, Career Management and Work-Life Balance » outlines the challenges related to HR management in the context of academia. A Summary of lessons learnt from implementing pilot practices in gender-sensitive HR Management has also been produced. Under the theme « Reshaping Decision-Making & Governance », both strategic and operational recommendations and findings have been provided. An “Advocacy Document for Integrating Gender in the Governance of Research, Funding and Teaching” defines what gendering research governance refers to and how it can be gender biased. It also showcases the challenges posed to the fields of life science, agriculture and environmental science. A conceptual framework and a roadmap for elaborating and monitoring equal, fair and gender sensitive partnerships has also been developed. The theme « Integration of the gender dimension in the contents of research, teaching and funding », elaborated an inventory of existing useful tools and trainings for the specific Gender-SMART field and developed new guiding frameworks. Various learning approaches were tested, such as the setting-up of a Community of Practices. The deliverable « Lessons learnt from good practices pilot tested, with view to their institutionalisation » shows and reflects on the processes of implementation at all partners’, in terms of approaches, their sustainability, and transferability.
Throughout the whole project major attention has been given to building the internal capacities of partners for driving change (participatory approaches; gender knowledge; competences in self-reflection, monitoring and evaluation).
For communication and dissemination activities multiple channels have been developed and used to reach out to different target audiences. Twitter messages have been regularly sent through the Gender-SMART account and multiple videos were posted on the project’s You Tube channel. The website was regularly updated with project news and outputs. Gender-SMART actively engaged collaborations with sister projects, as well as actors at national, regional and international level and field specific stakeholders.
