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  • Menu
  • Gender mainstreaming
    • What is Gender mainstreaming
      • Policy cycle
    • Institutions and structures
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        • #3 Steps Forward
          • How can you make a difference?
        • Economic Benefits of Gender Equality in the EU
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    • Toolkits
      • Gender Equality Training
        • Back to toolkit page
        • What is Gender Equality Training
        • Why invest in Gender Equality Training
        • Who should use Gender Equality Training
        • Step-by-step guide to Gender Equality Training
            • 1. Assess the needs
            • 2. Integrate initiatives to broader strategy
            • 3. Ensure sufficient resources
            • 4. Write good terms of reference
            • 5. Select a trainer
            • 6. Engage in the needs assessment
            • 7. Actively participate in the initiative
            • 8. Invite others to join in
            • 9. Monitoring framework and procedures
            • 10. Set up an evaluation framework
            • 11. Assess long-term impacts
            • 12. Give space and support others
        • Designing effective Gender Equality Training
        • Gender Equality Training in the EU
        • Good Practices on Gender Equality Training
        • More resources on Gender Equality Training
        • More on EIGE's work on Gender Equality Training
      • Gender Impact Assessment
        • Back to toolkit page
        • What is Gender Impact Assessment
        • Why use Gender Impact Assessment
        • Who should use Gender Impact Assessment
        • When to use Gender Impact Assessment
        • Guide to Gender Impact Assessment
          • Step 1: Definition of policy purpose
          • Step 2: Checking gender relevance
          • Step 3: Gender-sensitive analysis
          • Step 4: Weighing gender impact
          • Step 5: Findings and proposals for improvement
        • Following up on gender impact assessment
        • General considerations
        • Examples from the EU
            • European Commission
            • Austria
            • Belgium
            • Denmark
            • Finland
            • Sweden
            • Basque country
            • Catalonia
            • Lower Saxony
            • Swedish municipalities
      • Institutional Transformation
        • Back to toolkit page
        • What is Institutional Transformation
          • Institutional transformation and gender: Key points
          • Gender organisations
          • Types of institutions
          • Gender mainstreaming and institutional transformation
          • Dimensions of gender mainstreaming in institutions: The SPO model
        • Why focus on Institutional Transformation
          • Motivation model
        • Who the guide is for
        • Guide to Institutional Transformation
            • 1. Creating accountability and strengthening commitment
            • 2. Allocating resources
            • 3. Conducting an organisational analysis
            • 4. Developing a strategy and work plan
            • 5. Establishing a support structure
            • 6. Setting gender equality objectives
            • 7. Communicating gender mainstreaming
            • 8. Introducing gender mainstreaming
            • 9. Developing gender equality competence
            • 10. Establishing a gender information management system
            • 11. Launching gender equality action plans
            • 12. Promotional equal opportunities
            • 13. Monitoring and steering organisational change
        • Dealing with resistance
          • Discourse level
          • Individual level
          • Organisational level
          • Statements and reactions
        • Checklist: Key questions for change
        • Examples from the EU
            • 1. Strengthening accountability
            • 2. Allocating resources
            • 3. Organisational analysis
            • 4. Developing a strategy and working plan
            • 5. Establishing a support structure
            • 6. Setting objectives
            • 7. Communicating gender mainstreaming
            • 8. Introducing methods and tools
            • 9. Developing Competence
            • 10. Establishing a gender information management system
            • 11. Launching action plans
            • 12. Promoting within an organisation
            • 13. Monitoring and evaluating
      • Gender Equality in Academia and Research
        • Back to toolkit page
        • WHAT
          • What is a Gender Equality Plan?
          • Terms and definitions
          • Which stakeholders need to be engaged into a GEP
          • About the Gear Tool
        • WHY
          • Horizon Europe GEP criterion
          • Gender Equality in Research and Innovation
          • Why change must be structural
          • Rationale for gender equality change in research and innovation
          • GEAR step-by-step guide for research organisations, universities and public bodies
            • Step 1: Getting started
            • Step 2: Analysing and assessing the state-of-play in the institution
            • Step 3: Setting up a Gender Equality Plan
            • Step 4: Implementing a Gender Equality Plan
            • Step 5: Monitoring progress and evaluating a Gender Equality Plan
            • Step 6: What comes after the Gender Equality Plan?
          • GEAR step-by-step guide for research funding bodies
            • Step 1: Getting started
            • Step 2: Analysing and assessing the state-of-play in the institution
            • Step 3: Setting up a Gender Equality Plan
            • Step 4: Implementing a Gender Equality Plan
            • Step 5: Monitoring progress and evaluating a Gender Equality Plan
            • Step 6: What comes after the Gender Equality Plan?
          • GEAR action toolbox
            • Work-life balance and organisational culture
            • Gender balance in leadership and decision making
            • Gender equality in recruitment and career progression
            • Integration of the sex/gender dimension into research and teaching content
            • Measures against gender-based violence including sexual harassment
            • Measures mitigating the effect of COVID-19
            • Data collection and monitoring
            • Training: awareness-raising and capacity building
            • GEP development and implementation
            • Gender-sensitive research funding procedures
          • Success factors for GEP development and implementation
          • Challenges & resistance
        • WHERE
          • Austria
          • Belgium
          • Bulgaria
          • Croatia
          • Cyprus
          • Czechia
          • Denmark
          • Estonia
          • Finland
          • France
          • Germany
          • Greece
          • Hungary
          • Ireland
          • Italy
          • Latvia
          • Lithuania
          • Luxembourg
          • Malta
          • Netherlands
          • Poland
          • Portugal
          • Romania
          • Slovakia
          • Slovenia
          • Spain
          • Sweden
          • United Kingdom
      • Gender-sensitive Parliaments
        • Back to toolkit page
        • What is the tool for?
        • Who is the tool for?
        • How to use the tool
        • Self-assessment, scoring and interpretation of parliament gender-sensitivity
          • AREA 1 – Women and men have equal opportunities to ENTER the parliament
            • Domain 1 – Electoral system and gender quotas
            • Domain 2 - Political party/group procedures
            • Domain 3 – Recruitment of parliamentary employees
          • AREA 2 – Women and men have equal opportunities to INFLUENCE the parliament’s working procedures
            • Domain 1 – Parliamentarians’ presence and capacity in a parliament
            • Domain 2 – Structure and organisation
            • Domain 3 – Staff organisation and procedures
          • AREA 3 – Women’s interests and concerns have adequate SPACE on parliamentary agenda
            • Domain 1 – Gender mainstreaming structures
            • Domain 2 – Gender mainstreaming tools in parliamentary work
            • Domain 3 – Gender mainstreaming tools for staff
          • AREA 4 – The parliament produces gender-sensitive LEGISLATION
            • Domain 1 – Gender equality laws and policies
            • Domain 2 – Gender mainstreaming in laws
            • Domain 3 – Oversight of gender equality
          • AREA 5 – The parliament complies with its SYMBOLIC function
            • Domain 1 – Symbolic meanings of spaces
            • Domain 2 – Gender equality in external communication and representation
        • How gender-sensitive are parliaments in the EU?
        • Examples of gender-sensitive practices in parliaments
          • Women and men have equal opportunities to ENTER the parliament
          • Women and men have equal opportunities to INFLUENCE the parliament’s working procedures
          • Women’s interests and concerns have adequate SPACE on parliamentary agenda
          • The parliament produces gender-sensitive LEGISLATION
          • The parliament complies with its SYMBOLIC function
        • Glossary of terms
        • References and resources
      • Gender Budgeting
        • Back to toolkit page
        • Who is this toolkit for?
        • What is gender budgeting?
          • Introducing gender budgeting
          • Gender budgeting in women’s and men’s lived realities
          • What does gender budgeting involve in practice?
          • Gender budgeting in the EU Funds
            • Gender budgeting as a way of complying with EU legal requirements
            • Gender budgeting as a way of promoting accountability and transparency
            • Gender budgeting as a way of increasing participation in budget processes
            • Gender budgeting as a way of advancing gender equality
        • Why is gender budgeting important in the EU Funds?
          • Three reasons why gender budgeting is crucial in the EU Funds
        • How can we apply gender budgeting in the EU Funds? Practical tools and Member State examples
          • Tool 1: Connecting the EU Funds with the EU’s regulatory framework on gender equality
            • Legislative and regulatory basis for EU policies on gender equality
            • Concrete requirements for considering gender equality within the EU Funds
            • EU Funds’ enabling conditions
            • Additional resources
          • Tool 2: Analysing gender inequalities and gender needs at the national and sub-national levels
            • Steps to assess and analyse gender inequalities and needs
            • Step 1. Collect information and disaggregated data on the target group
            • Step 2. Identify existing gender inequalities and their underlying causes
            • Step 3. Consult directly with the target groups
            • Step 4. Draw conclusions
            • Additional resources
          • Tool 3: Operationalising gender equality in policy objectives and specific objectives/measures
            • Steps for operationalising gender equality in Partnership Agreements and Operational Programmes
            • General guidance on operationalising gender equality when developing policy objectives, specific objectives and measures
            • Checklist for putting the horizontal principle of gender equality into practice in Partnership Agreements
            • Checklist for putting the horizontal principle of gender equality into practice in Operational Programmes
            • Examples of integrating gender equality as a horizontal principle in policy objectives and specific objectives
          • Tool 4: Coordination and complementarities between the EU Funds to advance work-life balance
            • Steps for enhancing coordination and complementarities between the funds
            • Step 1. Alignment with the EU’s strategic engagement goals for gender equality and national gender equality goals
            • Steps 2 and 3. Identifying and developing possible work-life balance interventions
            • Step 4. Following-up through the use of indicators within M&E systems
            • Fictional case study 1: reconciling paid work and childcare
            • Fictional case study 2: reconciling shift work and childcare
            • Fictional case study 3: balancing care for oneself and others
            • Fictional case study 4: reconciling care for children and older persons with shift work
            • Additional resources
          • Tool 5: Defining partnerships and multi-level governance
            • Steps for defining partnerships and multi-level governance
            • Additional resources
          • Tool 6: Developing quantitative and qualitative indicators for advancing gender equality
            • Steps to develop quantitative and qualitative indicators
            • ERDF and Cohesion Fund
            • ESF+
            • EMFF
            • Additional resources
          • Tool 7: Defining gender-sensitive project selection criteria
            • Steps to support gender-sensitive project development and selection
            • Checklist to guide the preparation of calls for project proposals
            • Checklist for project selection criteria
            • Supplementary tool 7.a: Gender-responsive agreements with project implementers
          • Tool 8: Tracking resource allocations for gender equality in the EU Funds
            • Ensuring gender relevance in EU Funds
            • The tracking system
            • Steps for tracking resource allocations on gender equality
            • Step 1: Ex ante approach
            • Step 2: Ex post approach
            • Examples of Step 2a
            • Annex 1: Ex ante assignment of intervention fields to the gender equality dimension codes
            • Annex 2: The EU’s gender equality legal and policy framework
          • Tool 9: Mainstreaming gender equality in project design
            • Steps to mainstream gender equality in project design
            • Step 1. Alignment with partnership agreements’ and Operational Programmes’ gender objectives and indicators
            • Step 2. Project development and application
            • Step 3. Project implementation
            • Step 4. Project assessment
          • Tool 10: Integrating a gender perspective in monitoring and evaluation processes
            • Steps to integrate a gender perspective in M&E processes
            • Additional resources
          • Tool 11: Reporting on resource spending for gender equality in the EU Funds
            • Tracking expenditures for gender equality
            • Additional resources
          • References
          • Abbreviations
          • Acknowledgements
      • Gender-responsive Public Procurement
        • Back to toolkit page
        • Who is this toolkit for?
          • Guiding you through the toolkit
        • What is gender-responsive public procurement?
          • How is gender-responsive public procurement linked to gender equality?
          • How is gender-responsive public procurement linked to gender budgeting?
          • Five reasons why gender-responsive public procurement
          • Why was this toolkit produced
        • Gender-responsive public procurement in practice
          • Legal framework cross-references gender equality and public procurement
          • Public procurement strategies cover GRPP
          • Gender equality action plans or strategies mention public procurement
          • Capacity-building programmes, support structures
          • Regular collaboration between gender equality bodies
          • Effective monitoring and reporting systems on the use of GRPP
          • Tool 1:Self-assessment questionnaire about the legal
          • Tool 2: Overview of the legislative, regulatory and policy frameworks
        • How to include gender aspects in tendering procedures
          • Pre-procurement stage
            • Needs assessment
            • Tool 3: Decision tree to assess the gender relevance
            • Preliminary market consultation
            • Tool 4: Guiding questions for needs assessment
            • Defining the subject matter of the contract
            • Choosing the procedure
            • Tool 5: Decision tree for the choice of procedure for GRPP
            • Dividing the contract into lots
            • Tool 6: Guiding questions for dividing contracts into lots for GRPP
            • Light regime for social, health and other specific services
            • Tool 7: Guiding questions for applying GRPP under the light regime
            • Tool 8: Guiding questions for applying GRPP under the light regime
            • Reserved contracts
            • Preparing tender documents
          • Procurement stage
            • Exclusion grounds
            • Selection criteria
            • Technical specifications
            • Tool 9: Decision tree for setting GRPP selection criteria
            • Award criteria
            • Tool 10: Formulating GRPP award criteria
            • Tool 11: Bidders’ concepts to ensure the integration of gender aspects
            • Use of labels/certifications
          • Post-procurement stage
            • Tool 12: Checklist for including GRPP contract performance conditions
            • Subcontracting
            • Monitoring
            • Reporting
            • Tool 13: Template for a GRPP monitoring and reporting plan
        • References
        • Additional resources
    • Methods and tools
      • Browse
      • About EIGE's methods and tools
      • Gender analysis
      • Gender audit
      • Gender awareness-raising
      • Gender budgeting
      • Gender impact assessment
      • Gender equality training
      • Gender-responsive evaluation
      • Gender statistics and indicators
      • Gender monitoring
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      • Gender-responsive public procurement
      • Gender stakeholder consultation
      • Sex-disaggregated data
      • Institutional transformation
      • Examples of methods and tools
      • Resources
    • Good practices
      • Browse
      • About good practices
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    • Country specific information
      • Belgium
        • Overview
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        • Overview
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        • Overview
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        • Overview
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        • Overview
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        • Overview
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        • Overview
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        • Overview
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        • Overview
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        • Overview
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        • Overview
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        • Overview
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        • Overview
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        • Overview
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        • Overview
      • Sweden
        • Overview
    • EIGE’s publications on Gender mainstreaming
    • Concepts and definitions
    • Power Up conference 2019
  • Gender-based violence
    • What is gender-based violence?
    • Forms of violence
    • EIGE’s work on gender-based violence
    • Administrative data collection
      • Data collection on violence against women
        • The need to improve data collection
        • Advancing administrative data collection on Intimate partner violence and gender-related killings of women
        • Improving police and justice data on intimate partner violence against women in the European Union
        • Developing EU-wide terminology and indicators for data collection on violence against women
        • Mapping the current status and potential of administrative data sources on gender-based violence in the EU
      • About the tool
      • Administrative data sources
      • Advanced search
    • Analysis of EU directives from a gendered perspective
    • Costs of gender-based violence
    • Cyber violence against women
    • Femicide
    • Intimate partner violence and witness intervention
    • Female genital mutilation
      • Risk estimations
    • Risk assessment and risk management by police
      • Risk assessment principles and steps
          • Principle 1: Prioritising victim safety
          • Principle 2: Adopting a victim-centred approach
          • Principle 3: Taking a gender-specific approach
          • Principle 4: Adopting an intersectional approach
          • Principle 5: Considering children’s experiences
          • Step 1: Define the purpose and objectives of police risk assessment
          • Step 2: Identify the most appropriate approach to police risk assessment
          • Step 3: Identify the most relevant risk factors for police risk assessment
          • Step 4: Implement systematic police training and capacity development
          • Step 5: Embed police risk assessment in a multiagency framework
          • Step 6: Develop procedures for information management and confidentiality
          • Step 7: Monitor and evaluate risk assessment practices and outcomes
      • Risk management principles and recommendations
        • Principle 1. Adopting a gender-specific approach
        • Principle 2. Introducing an individualised approach to risk management
        • Principle 3. Establishing an evidence-based approach
        • Principle 4. Underpinning the processes with an outcome-focused approach
        • Principle 5. Delivering a coordinated, multiagency response
      • Legal and policy framework
      • Tools and approaches
      • Areas for improvement
      • References
    • Good practices in EU Member States
    • Methods and tools in EU Member States
    • White Ribbon Campaign
      • About the White Ribbon Campaign
      • White Ribbon Ambassadors
    • Regulatory and legal framework
      • International regulations
      • EU regulations
      • Strategic framework on violence against women 2015-2018
      • Legal Definitions in the EU Member States
    • Literature and legislation
    • EIGE's publications on gender-based violence
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      • Overview of the toolkit
      • First steps towards more inclusive language
        • Terms you need to know
        • Why should I ever mention gender?
        • Choosing whether to mention gender
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        • Stereotypes
          • Avoid gendered pronouns (he or she) when the person’s gender is unknown
          • Avoid irrelevant information about gender
          • Avoid gendered stereotypes as descriptive terms
          • Gendering in-animate objects
          • Using different adjectives for women and men
          • Avoid using stereotypical images
        • Invisibility and omission
          • Do not use ‘man’ as the neutral term
          • Do not use ‘he’ to refer to unknown people
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          • Greetings and other forms of inclusive communication
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        • Quiz 1: Policy document
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        • Quiz 3: Legal text
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    • Work-life balance in the ICT sector
      • Back to toolkit page
      • EU policies on work-life balance
      • Women in the ICT sector
      • The argument for work-life balance measures
        • Challenges
      • Step-by-step approach to building a compelling business case
        • Step 1: Identify national work-life balance initiatives and partners
        • Step 2: Identify potential resistance and find solutions
        • Step 3: Maximise buy-in from stakeholders
        • Step 4: Design a solid implementation plan
        • Step 5: Carefully measure progress
        • Step 6: Highlight benefits and celebrate early wins
      • Toolbox for planning work-life balance measures in ICT companies
      • Work–life balance checklist
    • Gender Equality Index 2019. Work-life balance
      • Back to toolkit page
      • Foreword
      • Highlights
      • Introduction
        • Still far from the finish line
        • Snail’s-pace progress on gender equality in the EU continues
        • More women in decision-making drives progress
        • Convergence on gender equality in the EU
      • 2. Domain of work
        • Gender equality inching slowly forward in a fast-changing world of work
        • Women dominate part-time employment, consigning them to jobs with poorer career progression
        • Motherhood, low education and migration are particular barriers to work for women
      • 3. Domain of money
        • Patchy progress on gender-equal access to financial and economic resources
        • Paying the price for motherhood
        • Lifetime pay inequalities fall on older women
      • 4. Domain of knowledge
        • Gender equality in education standing still even as women graduates outnumber men graduates
        • Both women and men limit their study fields
        • Adult learning stalls most when reskilling needs are greatest
      • 5. Domain of time
        • Enduring burden of care perpetuates inequalities for women
        • Uneven impact of family life on women and men
      • 6. Domain of power
        • More women in decision-making but still a long way to go
        • Democracy undermined by absence of gender parity in politics
        • More gender equality on corporate boards — but only in a few Member States
        • Limited opportunities for women to influence social and cultural decision-making
      • 7. Domain of health
        • Behavioural change in health is key to tackling gender inequalities
        • Women live longer but in poorer health
        • Lone parents and people with disabilities are still without the health support they need
      • 8. Domain of violence
        • Data gaps mask the true scale of gender-based violence in the EU
        • Backlash against gender equality undermines legal efforts to end violence against women
        • Conceptual framework
        • Parental-leave policies
        • Informal care of older people, people with disabilities and long-term care services
        • Informal care of children and childcare services
        • Transport and public infrastructure
        • Flexible working arrangements
        • Lifelong learning
      • 10. Conclusions
    • Sexism at work
      • Background
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        • Where does sexism come from?
        • Sexism at work
        • What happens when you violate sexist expectations?
        • What is sexual harassment?
        • Violating sexist expectations can lead to sexual harassment
        • Under-reporting of sexual harassment
      • Part 2. Test yourself
        • How can I combat sexism? A ten-step programme for managers
        • How can all staff create cultural change
        • How can I report a problem?
        • Eradicating sexism to change the face of the EU
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  • HOW

Gender Equality in Academia and Research

PrintDownload as PDF
  • Back to toolkit page
  • WHAT
    • What is a Gender Equality Plan?
    • Terms and definitions
    • Which stakeholders need to be engaged into a GEP
    • About the Gear Tool
  • WHY
    • Horizon Europe GEP criterion
    • Gender Equality in Research and Innovation
    • Why change must be structural
    • Rationale for gender equality change in research and innovation
  • HOW
    • GEAR step-by-step guide for research organisations, universities and public bodies
      • Step 1: Getting started
      • Step 2: Analysing and assessing the state-of-play in the institution
      • Step 3: Setting up a Gender Equality Plan
      • Step 4: Implementing a Gender Equality Plan
      • Step 5: Monitoring progress and evaluating a Gender Equality Plan
      • Step 6: What comes after the Gender Equality Plan?
    • GEAR step-by-step guide for research funding bodies
      • Step 1: Getting started
      • Step 2: Analysing and assessing the state-of-play in the institution
      • Step 3: Setting up a Gender Equality Plan
      • Step 4: Implementing a Gender Equality Plan
      • Step 5: Monitoring progress and evaluating a Gender Equality Plan
      • Step 6: What comes after the Gender Equality Plan?
    • GEAR action toolbox
      • Work-life balance and organisational culture
      • Gender balance in leadership and decision making
      • Gender equality in recruitment and career progression
      • Integration of the sex/gender dimension into research and teaching content
      • Measures against gender-based violence including sexual harassment
      • Measures mitigating the effect of COVID-19
      • Data collection and monitoring
      • Training: awareness-raising and capacity building
      • GEP development and implementation
      • Gender-sensitive research funding procedures
    • Success factors for GEP development and implementation
    • Challenges & resistance
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  • Gender Equality in Academia and Research
  • GEAR action toolbox

Gender Equality Plan development and implementation

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In this section of the action toolbox, we highlight two fields of action that we consider crucial for the development and implementation of a gender equality plan (GEP), and which have the character of a cross-cutting issue:

  • engaging stakeholders;
  • developing structures to support gender equality work.

Engaging stakeholders

An effective GEP is a strategic document that engages the whole of the organisation. GEPs require the support and official commitment of senior leaders, but work best when developed with the active engagement of the entire organisation.

To structurally embed gender equality within the organisation, it is necessary that the widest possible circle of stakeholders is receptive to this change. In order to make gender equality work effective, it is therefore paramount to engage with these stakeholders, vertically as well as horizontally. You can engage the whole organisation throughout the development of a GEP, in the initial status quo assessment (see step 2 of the step-by-step guide ), when establishing aims and objectives, when reviewing and establishing new ways of working and when communicating the plan more generally. To get more information about who to involve and how, see the chapter on stakeholder involvement , which clarifies that stakeholder engagement requires messages and communication targeted to the stakeholders’ specific needs. It is also important to mention that stakeholder involvement does not end with having developed the GEP: you also need to continue these activities during the implementation of the plan (see step 4 in the step-by-step guide).

Outreach activities go from the top to the bottom of an organisation, as well as across departments, schools and disciplines. Even alliances and outreach beyond the institution can help to strengthen and legitimise internal change.

To implement the GEP, it is important to think about who to involve where / in which step. We recommend a step-by-step approach to participation, as already implemented in some GEP projects, such as CALIPER (see step 3 ). You will need stakeholders in the core team to also be active regarding implementation. And there will be stakeholders you want to involve in other forms of supporting structures, such as gender equality boards, hubs, gender labs or networks.

Developing structures to support gender equality work

First, a GEP needs to be structurally anchored and supported in your organisation at different levels, for example through a unit, office, core team or department that is mandated to foster implementation of structural changes towards equality (see also the section on success factors). On a broader level, support structures such as gender equality boards, hubs or gender laboratories are also necessary to support the structural change process, as experiences from projects such as ‘Supporting the promotion of equality in research and academia’ (SUPERA or CALIPER show. The examples provided below reflect the different forms and roles support structures can take.

A gender equality function or core team provides a focal point and source of expertise for the development and implementation of a GEP. Where a dedicated function is not appropriate, for example in smaller organisations, organisations should still consider in which way the implementation of a GEP will be organised and ensure that there is a clear focal point with expertise to coordinate and drive the work.

The aim of these structures is to make gender equality more independent of passionate individuals and personnel changes, and thereby ensure sustainability. Furthermore, these structures and bodies have their responsibility and budget clearly laid out, and they are anchored in the overall governance structure of your organisation.

Such structure may already exist in your organisation. If not, its creation can be one of the measures of your GEP. In the meantime, there can be a task force or working group of research and/or administrative staff to deal with the development of the first GEP.

In any case, the unit or task force responsible for developing and implementing the GEP needs dedicated resources and expertise to do so. This is also required by the Horizon Europe criterion. Organisations should consider which types and what volume of resources are required to support an ongoing process of sustainable organisational change to promote gender equality. Resources will be needed throughout the whole GEP cycle, including the status quo assessment, planning, implementation, and monitoring and review, and to support specific measures. Furthermore, staff time capacities may be earmarked to engage personnel from across the organisation in various steps, for example reviewing existing data and practices, identifying areas in need of attention and establishing the GEP’s objectives, conducting data analysis, and participating in working groups.

For institutionalising gender equality in your organisational structures and supporting the core team, you might establish a gender equality board/committee, a hub or gender laboratory. These supporting structures can ensure that gender equality issues permeate the governance and structure of the organisation. H2020 Gender Equality Plan Projects Cluster Event – Report on key findings recommends that ‘committees should consist of a balanced group of representatives (all genders, representing all status groups, academic and technical staff, different fields of knowledge, as well as people with particular experience regarding equality issues), this will ensure an appropriate representation of all organisation members’.

Get some tips on what to consider when implementing measures

Useful information in terms of engaging stakeholders

It is important to have the explicit support from the top level of the organisation from the beginning. Such support increases the perceived legitimacy of the measures.

While work towards gender equality can start with a small group of motivated people, it is important to gradually and continuously reach out and widen the group of involved people.

Know your institution, talk with people, understand what existing structures do and can do, identify where potential allies are and where resistance may be encountered. Start by building strategic alliances and seek win–win situations.

Creating a feeling of ownership is key to engaging stakeholders in the work towards structural change for gender equality.

To engage stakeholders, it is paramount that they know the gender equality objectives and the initiatives being taken. Therefore, internal communication and visibility are crucial.

Internal legitimacy can be acquired by gaining external support through alliances with stakeholders outside the organisation. Think, for example, about research organisations with an outstanding reputation for gender equality, internationally recognised gender equality experts, or participation in an EU-funded project that supports the implementation of inclusive GEPs.

Useful information in terms of developing gender equality structures

Whichever structure is established, it is important that its mandate is endorsed by the top of the organisation, which optimally also supports gender equality activities publicly.

The closer structures are situated to the top of the organisation (e.g. reporting directly to the top management), the more authority they will have and the more effective they will be.

Structures need adequate (human and financial) resources and power to work effectively.

Experience has shown that a gender equality function works best if organised as a team, rather than just one person working alone.

Depending on the size of the organisation, at least one person (or more in large organisations) in the gender equality function should have a permanent mandate, be funded internally and, if possible, be dedicated exclusively to promoting gender equality. In smaller organisations, team members may also be representatives of different departments who devote a certain amount of their time to gender equality.

The gender equality function should be staffed internally to ensure that there is knowledge of how the organisation works. However, it can also be helpful to institutionalise external knowledge (e.g. in the form of an advisory board) in order to ensure a source of expertise independent of organisational and hierarchical dynamics.

A dedicated gender equality function benefits from incorporating expertise in gender equality and change management, and being organised in a way that it can work with the whole organisation. For example, a gender equality function would benefit from being led by a member of the senior executive team and being part of an office or function with responsibility for strategic projects or organisational change, such as a strategic planning directorate or executive leadership office.

It may be useful to institutionalise networks linking the central level to the local level (e.g. gender equality committees or representatives at departmental level) to facilitate the flow of information and promote a bottom-up approach to address unmet needs. Particularly in large structures, decentralised gender equality work in the form of gender focal persons networks, for instance, is known to be a condition for successful implementation; for this reason, it is encouraged in EU-funded GEP projects.

Where a dedicated gender equality function is set up and able to take the lead on the GEP, it will still be important to emphasise that promoting gender equality is the responsibility of all staff.

Get inspired by what other organisations have implemented

To learn about how other organisations planned and implemented their GEPs, see the examples below:

  • GEP 2019–2020, Central European University, Hungary/Austria,
  • GEP 2019–2023, Estonian Marine Institute of the University of Tartu, Estonia,
  • GEP 2020–2027, Estonian Research Council, Estonia,
  • GEP, Academy of Finland, Finland,
  • GEP, Pavol Jozef Šafárik University, Košice, Slovakia,
  • GEP, University of Southern Denmark, Denmark,
  • GEP, University of Warsaw, Poland,
  • GEP, VRVis, Austria,
  • GEP development, Plovdiv University, Bulgaria,
  • GEP development, Vilnius University, Lithuania,
  • GEP development and implementation, University of Rijeka, Croatia,
  • implementing and monitoring a GEP, Research Centre of the Slovenian Academy of Sciences and Arts, Slovenia.

You can find further inspiring examples in the following examples:

  • EIGE provides a section on good practices for various relevant topics;
  • the EU-funded project ‘Promoting gender balance and inclusion in research, innovation and training’ (PLOTINA) provides a library of actions, focusing on issues such as career progression and work–life balance, but also the integration of sex and gender in teaching curricula;
  • these sustainable measures were already mentioned in the first version of the gender equality in academia and research (GEAR) tool and are still in place.

If you want to learn more about how you can adjust these measures for your own purposes and how to implement them through a GEP, read the step-by-step guide for research organisations, universities and public bodies, or the step-by-step guide for research funding organisations.

  • In this section, the focus is on stakeholder engagement and structures. If you are looking for videos and webinars on how to develop and implement a GEP, have a look at tab 2 of the relevant step (step 3 for GEP development and step 4 for GEP implementation.
  • A webinar on mobilising and engaging people with regard to gender equality, entitled ‘Creating long lasting commitment for gender equality in research’ was designed by the EU-funded Gender Equality Academy in 2020. It aims to present different discursive frameworks for gender equality in research and higher education and to highlight discursive opportunities and tensions between gender equality policies and mainstream higher education policies. It also provides examples of strategic framing and priority-setting.
  • The webinar ‘Introduction to gender equality plans’(2020) is part of the capacity-building programme developed by the EU-funded Gender Equality Academy project. It aims to explore the concept of institutional change for gender equality in research-performing and research funding organisations, and how GEPs can be a means for implementing it in view of achieving the three main European research area (ERA) objectives.
  • Watch this video of the stakeholder engagement event for the HeForShe campaign held at Sciences Po (Paris) to engage students, supported by the Director and Provost of Sciences Po.
  • Watch the videos about the benefits of gender equality work by the SPEAR project, from Germanyand Sweden, which could be used for stakeholder negotiations.
  • In the ACT project video called ‘Introducing the concept of Communities of Practice (CoPs) as an instrument for institutional change’, you can learn more about how communities of practice can be used for gender equality work.

In this section, the focus is on stakeholder engagement and structures. If you are looking for tools and resources on how to develop and implement a GEP, have a look at tab 3 of the relevant step (step 3 for GEP development and step 4 for GEP implementation).

Existing tools and resources (engaging stakeholders)

Institutional guidelines to make your organisation more gender inclusive have been developed by the EU-funded Hypatia project in 2018, offering concrete suggestions to institutions at the levels of individual staff members, staff teams, management and external stakeholders, including for affirmative measures that can be taken to enhance institutional capacity for gender inclusion.

The gender and diversity toolkit, developed under the EU-funded structural change project ‘Transforming organisational culture for gender equality in research and innovation’ (GENOVATE), presents and explains a set of interesting approaches and participatory techniques to engage stakeholders.

A presentation by Evanthia K. Schmidt, Aarhus University (Denmark), about engaging leadership in gender equality initiatives (presented at the ‘Structural transformation to achieve gender equality in science’ (STAGES) final conference on 3 December 2015) provides concrete suggestions learnt from the experiences of the EU-funded structural change project STAGES on how to better involve leadership in gender equality.

The EU-funded project CALIPER has produced Co-design guidelines for the development and reporting of scenarios.

The ACT project’s co-creation toolkit compiles a variety of participatory methods and tools useful for communities of practice to successfully operate and self-develop. The toolkit contents are meant to offer methods and practices to help communities of practice engage collaboratively in activities to advance gender equality measures, spread expertise and promote effective institutional change.

Existing tools and resources (structures to support)

The guidelines produced within the framework of the EU-funded structural change STAGES project provide practical insights on establishing and supporting networks for gender equality in universities and research organisations. For example, it is recommended to bridge top-down and bottom-up approaches by creating spaces for dialogue and negotiation within networks that can span the institution. Moreover, networks can be involved in planning, empowerment and negotiation activities. They can support, connect and empower internal actors. See Structural Transformation to Achieve Gender Equality in Science – Guidelines, pp 46–48.

The Guidelines for the Implementation of Gender Equality Plans proposed by the EU-funded project ‘Systemic action for gender equality’ (SAGE) (2016) provide support to GEP-implementing organisations for planning and managing their GEP process and lowering organisational resistance to change, placing the emphasis on stakeholder engagement and building alliances.

  • Training: awareness-raising and capacity building
  • Gender-sensitive research funding procedures

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