The overall goal of GENDERACTIONplus is to contribute to advancing gender equality in the European Research Area (ERA) through capacity building, policy exchange and coordination, as well as the provision of strategic policy advice. Through these activities the project will contribute to supporting gender equality policy coordination and integration in the new ERA. To organise this work, two Communities of Practice will be created, one consisting of representatives of national authorities and the other of representatives of Research Funding Organisations.
“It is vital that gender equality continues to be one of the priorities in the new European Research Area. We have seen major advances at the policy level in the EU overall and in some European countries in the recent years but we also know we can do better. Gender based violence and sexual harassment continue to be a major problem, and we need to develop better tools to address intersectionality and diversity. Another important issue is the monitoring and evaluation of gender equality plans, and their impact, since they are now an eligibility criterion for Horizon Europe. This is a great opportunity to advance on all these topics in a great and motivated European consortium,” says project coordinator Marcela Linkova.
The five thematic areas that the project will address are:
- intersectionality and inclusiveness;
- gender-based violence in academia;
- the gender dimension in research and innovation;
- the monitoring of gender equality actions at the Member State level in the new ERA, including the development of a monitoring mechanism and indicators;
- the development of a system for monitoring and evaluating the implementation and impact of gender equality plans (GEPs), as the main instrument to promote inclusive institutional changes in the new ERA.
“Gender-based violence and harassment is a persistent challenge in global higher education systems. In GENDERACTIONplus we will continue the ongoing work in UniSAFE, targeting relevant policy development in ERA, especially addressing national contexts in member states and research funding organisations. The Swedish Secretariat for Gender Research at University of Gothenburg leads one Work Package, which is dedicated solely to ending gender-based violence in ERA. We will contribute significantly to ERA progress with up-to-date and research-based knowledge, concrete policy development and also suggest targeted preventive mechanisms” says Fredrik Bondestam, Director of The Swedish Secretariat for Gender Research.
The GENDERACTIONplus project builds on the Horizon 2020 project GENDERACTION implemented 2017 to 2021, the work of the Standing Working Group on Gender in Research and Innovation (SWG GRI) and the work of the FORGEN Community of Practice of RFOs (Research Funding Organisations) developed in ACT project implemented 2018 to 2021.
