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14:00 – 15:30 CET
Part 1: Initiating gender equality plans: online tools and learning platforms
What features and qualities do online tools and platforms for the implementation of gender equality plans need to provide? Examples of such platforms are the GEAR Step-by-Step Guide by EIGE (link is external) and genderportal.eu.
How can online tools help to initiate the implementation of gender equality plans? What are their limitations?
How can learning effects in terms of gender mainstreaming, gender knowledge, and gender expertise be increased for gender equality stakeholders through online tools and platforms?
15:30 – 17:00 CET
Part 2: Monitoring, assessing results, and ensuring the sustainability of gender equality plans: What makes a sustainable gender equality plan?
How can gender equality plans best be implemented, in order to increase their sustainability? For example, this can be done through the inclusion of individuals with institutional power in processes of decision-making, as well as gender-balance in decision-making bodies, the monitoring of recruitment and promotion policies, or through the promotion of women’s visibility in leadership positions.
What role does gender expertise play in the sustainability of gender equality plans? How can gender expertise become an integral part of gender equality plans?
Welcome to our e-discussion
Hello and welcome to our e-discussion “The Implementation of Gender Equality plans”.
We will begin shortly with “Part 1: Initiating gender equality plans: online tools and learning platforms”.
My name is Laura Getz and I work for the Center of Excellence Women and Science (CEWS), located at Gesis – Leibniz Institute for the Social Sciences. I’m also a member of the GenPORT project team. Genderportal.eu provides a user-based online repository, an event calendar, a blog, and it also provides possibilities for users to exchange information in discussion groups.
Results of this discussion will be summarized and made available to participants, policy stakeholders, gender equality stakeholders, and research funders. They will also feed into the GenPORT series of policy briefs on Implementing Gender Equality Plans in Research Performing Organisations, which you can also find on genderportal.eu.
We welcome your input into our e-discussion today. Looking forward to a great discussion!
If you haven’t registered for this e-discussion you can still do so now. Simply Register for/Login to GenPORT, Join the Group “E-Discussion: The Implementation of Gender Equality Plans” and subscribe.
Please briefly introduce yourself before posting your first comment. You can either add a new comment or reply directly to a discussion point or to the contribution of another participant. Please remember to refresh this page regularly to see the latest contributions.
Let’s start with part 1 on the agenda
Let’s start with part 1 on the agenda.
Websites such as genderportal.eu serve to distribute information and help to build networks between gender equality researchers and stakeholders. The GEAR Step-by-Step Guide by EIGE has been introduced recently to help establish gender equality plans. The INTEGER project is yet another example of a project that aimed to transform institutions to the benefit of gender equality. With these and other examples of structural changes projects and initiatives in mind I would like to start our discussion.
What features and qualities do online tools and platforms for the implementation of gender equality plans need to provide for users?
This is especially relevant considering differing national and legal contexts, as well as the issue of transferability of gender equality plans from one institutional/national context to another. So the question here is also: How can online tools be of use across national/institutional contexts and account for varying needs?
In reply to Let’s start with part 1 on the agenda by Laura Getz
kind of a self-assessment
kind of a self-assessment section, so I know if the provided tool will be helpful for me. My name is Sonja, and I am the project manager of the EC funded LIBRA project. The aim is to reach gender equality in 10 research institutes across Europe. One feature was to develop a Gender Equality Plan.
In reply to kind of a self-assessment by sreiland
Hello Sonja! That's very
Hello Sonja! That's very interesting. How do you think could this self-assessment be presented online, eg. in the form of a questionnaire or guidelines? What role does the exchange with other gender equality stakeholders play when it comes to self-assessment? Maybe you can draw on your experiences from the LIBRA project.
Hi there, I'm Rachel Palmén
Hi there, I'm Rachel Palmén and I form part of the GenPORT consortium. Just following Laura's point on self-assessment - I think self-assessment in various stages of GEP implementation (from base-line data collection to monitring progress on imeplementation) can be really supported by some form of external input when carried out in the right way...Does anyone here have anything to say about how to foster the most constructive relationship between self-assessment and external evaluation?
In reply to Hi there, I'm Rachel Palmén by Rachel Palmén
Thanks for your input, Rachel
Thanks for your input, Rachel. This is also an important point regarding the sustainability of gender equality plans and their effectiveness on the long run.
Self-Assessment and Introduction
Hello everyone,
I am Sonia, I work at IRB Barcelona, a biomedical research institution based in Barcelona (Spain). I coordinate the Research Grants Office, responsible for securing the competitive funding of the institution. Furthermore, I serve on the “Equality and Diversity Committee” of IRB Barcelona, a body responsible for implementing the centre’s Equality Plan and for designing, implementing and following up measures to ensure that every member at the institute is treated fairly and properly regardless of his/her gender, race, religion, or sexual orientation.
Since we are currently working on our Gender Equality Plan, the SELF-ASSESSMENT tool will be very interesting for us. It will allow us to evaluate whether we are in the good direction or if any corrections need to be implemented.
Regards,
Sonia
In reply to Self-Assessment and Introduction by Sonia Saborit
Hello Sonia! Thank you. Do
Hello Sonia! Thank you. Do you have any measures in place that stress the issue of intersectionality specifically/ create an awareness for intersectionality? This is certainly an aspect that would need to be included in a self-assessment tool, as well.
Hello all, we are Angela and
Hello all, we are Angela and Francesca from the PLOTINA Project. The overall objective of PLOTINA (G.A. 666008) is to enable the development, implementation and assessment of self-tailored Gender Equality Plans (GEPs) with innovative and sustainable strategies for the Research Performing Organizations (RPOs) involved. We think GEAR tool is very innovative and useful, our only suggestion would be to organize dissemination events on it, at national level, at least in the RPOs involved in projects funded under the GERI calls of Horizon2020. Thank you very much for your work.
In reply to Hello all, we are Angela and by Angela Balzano
Thanks very much for your
Thanks very much for your contribution. Your comment also leads to possible limitations of online tools for gender equality plans regarding an increase of their outreach at national level.
Implementation and limitations of GEP online tools
Online-tools cannot replace face-to-face conversation, but they do facilitate the organization of GEPs and help to bundle knowledge and expertise to a certain extent. How can such tools and platforms help to initiate the implementation of gender equality plans, and what are their limitations?
In reply to Implementation and limitations of GEP online tools by Laura Getz
Hello, this is Francesca,
Hello, this is Francesca, Angela's colleague. We think that in the Gear there's a very useful tool, that is the section where all the actions undertaken at the international level are presented (http://eige.europa.eu/gender-mainstreaming/tools-methods/GEAR/examples). This is useful to the extent that it provides the necessary background (and specifically, an empirical one) to facilitate the endorsement by the multiple actors working in the RPO in the moment of the implementation. Our suggestion is to make this section more visible, thank you.
Hello,
Hello,
I am Naiara also from PLOTINA project.
Regarding the question Laura has asked, I would say, such tools are very useful in giving RPOs a common-framework to work in. Thanksa a lot!
In reply to Hello, by Naiara_Arri_Garcia
That is an important aspect,
That is an important aspect, thank you. Have you also found limitations to this common framework that were due to differing institutional contexts/organizational cultures, for example, regarding the transferability of gender equality measures?
In reply to That is an important aspect, by Laura Getz
I think it is important to
I think it is important to have previous gender-knowledge or coachers that can asses in that sense. I think the common framework gives us a benchmark to work-in and learn from each other. But it is also very important to have specific knowledge of our reality from a gender a prespective (by for example making an audit, and identifying the main critical points). These tolls should then be used as a response to those critical issues found. The main limitation I see (which I think is also a strength) is that the very specific knowledge needs to come from each institution.
Our experience from LIBRA is,
Our experience from LIBRA is, that assessment for gender equality can be very complex. Each institution is different and thus has different measures in place. And I agree, it is very valuable to have gender experts involved in the process.
Increasing learning effects for stakeholders
So far we have discussed that self-assessment is much needed for improving the effectiveness and development of gender equality plans. The exchange of experiences and information among stakeholders, which is also the product of different institutional contexts, is a source of knowledge and practical information, and causes learning effects.
How can such learning effects and experiences from various institutions best be shared, and gender expertise increased among stakeholder groups through online tools and platforms? Or, in other words: how can an exchange of information be facilitated?
Let's move on to part 2 on the agenda
We would now like to move on to part 2 on the agenda: “Monitoring, assessing results, and ensuring the sustainability of gender equality plans: What makes a sustainable gender equality plan?”
Thank you very much for your input and points for discussion so far. Of course, you can still comment on previous contributions in this thread.
If you haven’t registered for this e-discussion, this is still possible. Simply Register for/Login to GenPORT, Join the Group “E-Discussion: The Implementation of Gender Equality Plans” and then subscribe.
An important aspect of the effectiveness of gender equality plans is to ensure their sustainability. What happens after plans have been implemented and/or projects end.
How can gender equality plans best be implemented, in order to increase/ensure their sustainability?
This can be done through the inclusion of individuals with institutional power in processes of decision-making, as well as gender-balance in decision-making bodies, the monitoring of recruitment and promotion policies, or through the promotion of women’s visibility in leadership positions. We welcome your input on this.
In reply to Let's move on to part 2 on the agenda by Laura Getz
I think a key issues, it to
I think a key issues, it to integrate the implementation of the GEP within the structures, dynamic and processes already taking place in the insitution to ensure their sustainability. But again, this might also depend on the situation in each RPO.
In order to assure
In order to assure sustainability to GEPs, we think that it is important to collect from strategical actors differently positioned inside the RPO their feedbacks and suggestions on possible actions to undertake to promote gender equality, eg in work-life balance. In this regard, the internal audit is pivotal to collect data on the needs and critical aspects that interlocutors feels as priorities. The GEP should be an adequate answer to the needs that emerged from the audit.
In reply to In order to assure by Francesca Crivellaro
I agree with what you say. In
I agree with what you say. In this sense, it is very important for the members of the "community" where it will be implemented to feel it as their own tool, at the design phase it would be important in this sense to engage a broad group of members from different areas and grades, and who believe in it.
sustainability
Hi, from my experiences as evaluator of gender equality plans of HEI in several national contexts, I believe that instituting defined roles and responsibilities at the central level of the organisation as well as de-cental levels is very important to lay out a lasting structure for a variety of actors inside the organisation. It is also important to make the set-up of this visible to other bodies in the organisation as well as to the outside, e.g. peer organisations!
Integrating gender expertise into GEPs
Thank you! Performing internal audits to receive feedback from staff, and implementing measures into exisiting organizational structures are valuable steps to ensure the sustainability of GEPs. The relationship between self-assessment and external evaluation that Rachel mentioned earlier is closely linked with these aspects.
Gender expertise and gender knowledge/ the involvement of gender experts has been mentioned earlier in the discussion. However, in order for this expertise to have an impact it needs to be made accessible to staff, stakeholders and decision-making bodies - on all structural levels, as has been mentioned as well.
How can gender expertise be integrated into institutional structures/become an integral part of gender equality plans? The presence of gender knowledge on all structural levels of RPOs certainly fosters the sustainbaility of gender equality plans.
We welcome your input on this.
Francesca and me have to go,
Francesca and me have to go, we thank you very much for the conversation. Best regards
Francesca and me have to go,
Francesca and me have to go, we thank you very much for the conversation. Best regards
Thank you so much for your contributions.
Thank you so much for your valuable contributions. Our online discussion is coming to an end.
The discussion thread will remain open for some time, if you would like to add anything. We welcome you to share further input.
Results of the online discussion will be integrated into GenPORT policy briefs no. 5 to 8 on “Implementing Gender Equality Plans in Research Performing Organisations”. You can find more information on the GenPORT policy briefs here: http://www.genderportal.eu/blog/genport-policy-briefs-now-online
Thank you once again for contributing to the discussion. Have a good rest of the week!
Laura