Horizon 2020 promotes gender equality in Research & Innovation

On the occasion of the International Women´s Day, let's celebrate Horizon 2020’s contribution to gender equality in Research & Innovation. The scheme ‘Science With and for Society’ aims to remove barriers to the recruitment and career progression of female researchers. Here are just some of the EU-funded projects.

Only 33% of researchers in the EU are women, according to the last She Figures report (2015). The EU research programme Horizon 2020 strongly promotes gender equality in Research & Innovation (R&I).

One of its schemes, Science With and For Society (SwafS), managed by REA, aims to remove barriers to the recruitment and career progression of female researchers, and to address gender imbalances in decision-making processes.

REA has selected some of the most promising projects (from 21) that are implementing Gender Equality Plans (GEPs) and covering different issues related to gender. We have highlighted some interesting aspects of each:

Reinforcing female presence in specific fields

LIBRA works in increasing “the representation and participation of women in leadership positions in life sciences.” One of the objectives of the project is to improve work-life balance in academia.

GEECCO aims to develop the “GEECCO Experience: Dos and Don’ts while Degenderizing the STEM [science, technology, engineering, mathematics] Field”.

Transparent and fair recruitment

In this video, the project PLOTINA provides guidance on how contrasting unconscious gender biases in the evaluation and recruitment of professors and researchers. The project promotes transparent and fair recruitment processes. In the video, he project states: “cultural differences, as well as gender differences, may contribute to increasing the value of research”.

Mapping and analysing progress

GenderAction has developed a network of national representatives to advance gender equality in science, technology and innovation in the European Research Area (ERA). The objectives of the project include mapping and analysing Member States’ progress towards the implementation of gender equality in R&I. The project also intends providing training among responsible national representatives and Horizon 2020 National Contact Points (NCPs).

SwafS also aims to integrate the specificities of men and female in any research study; as men and women are different, their different reactions have to be taken into consideration.

Happy International Women´s Day!