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Since February 2021, the Institute for Research in the Social Communication of the Slovak Academy of Sciences (SAS) has been implementing the Horizon 2020 project entitled ATHENA: Implementing gender equality plans to unlock the research potential of RPOs and RFos¹ in Europe, in cooperation with 9 other partners from research and research funding organizations from 8 EU countries.

The main task of this project is to prepare and implement a Gender Equality Plan in order to unlock research potential though gender equality in research, management and leadership.

Why should we care about women in science?

The first reason is representation. The representation of women in science within the EU is far from parity. According to available data in the EU, women earn up to 17 % less in science than their male colleagues, they are less likely to hold leadership positions and women are more likely than men to work in “precarious” conditions. In addition, while there are almost half (47.9 %) of the female PhD graduates, their subsequent proportion in research is lower.² Second is the importance of gender equality. It shows the presence of women in research, but also in the management of the organization, brings an overall improvement in work, working conditions and quality of the organization.³

Gender Equality Plan is important for SAS

Values ​​and strategy of the SAS

 The preparation of the Gender Equality Plan is a natural fulfillment of the values ​​of the SAS, especially in the area of ​​respecting the diversity and individuality of persons in science. It is also an important part of the strategic development of the SAS, specifically in the strategic task to Support gender equality at all levels of management”. Therefore, it will be valuable, among other things, to obtain a more detailed picture of the situation in the SAS.

Horizon Europe Program 2021 – 2027

 It is expected that the EU's Horizon Europe Framework Program for Research and Innovation 2021 –2027 will require applicants to document their gender equality plans. The elaboration of a gender equality plan is therefore in the interest of the SAS.⁴ According to the latest report, demonstrating the implementation of a gender equality plan may be one of the criteria for support from Horizon Europe already in 2022.⁵

Gender equality plan coming of the everyday life of SAS

First step: Gender equality audit (February 2021 – January 2022)

First of all, an analysis of the current gender equality practice within the organizations will be carried out. The methodology and implementation of this gender audit is the responsibility of the Institute for Research in Social Communication of the SAS. However, for a successful analysis, we need the cooperation of all SAS institutes.

Step Two: Capacity Building to Support Institutional Change (July 2021 – January 2024)

Do you want to be an active part of the change?

Within the project, a Gender Equality Plans Implementation of the Implementation Committee (GEPI) will be established, in which representatives from the following levels and groups of the SAS are welcome

- Higher and middle management

- Professors and researchers

- HR professionals

- Administrative staff

Representatives from the commission will be invited to participate in focus groups, where they can present their comments and they will have the opportunity to become involved in workshops on gender equality in the workplace. We will support them if they subsequently prepare similar workshops for their colleagues in cooperation with our institute. Supervision of this process will be provided by an external expert in the field of gender equality.

Third step: Preparation and implementation of the Gender Equality Plan (September 2021 – January 2025)

Following the analysis and thanks to active cooperation of the SAS representatives, the document Gender Equality Plan of the SAS will be created. The estimated date of creation of the Gender Equality Plan is June 2022. The project will also provide monitoring and evaluation of the implementation of this plan.

The Institute of Social Communication Research of the Slovak Academy of Sciences is looking forward to cooperating with all the institutes. We believe that the Gender Equality Plan of the Slovak Academy of Sciences will bring considerable benefits to the entire organization, and it we will become one of the modern, democratic research institutions.

If you have any questions, do not hesitate to contact us at the following email address: miroslava.zilinska@savba.sk.

More information on the project

This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No 101006416.

Text: Miroslava Žilinská, Institute for Research in Social Communication Slovak SAS

Foto: https://bit.ly/3h4m9JN