GENDERACTIONplus

The Horizon Europe project GENDERACTIONplus (GENDer equality in the ERA Community To Innovate policy implementatiON plus), which runs between 2022 and 2024, aims to deepen European cooperation and contribute to greater coordination in the field of gender equality in research. The project consortium consists of 26 beneficiaries and 14 associated partners from 21 European countries. The Centre for Gender and Science is the project coordinator and, in addition to coordinating and managing the project, is responsible for communication, knowledge transfer and impact generation at the EU level.

The project builds on the Horizon 2020 GENDERACTION project, which was coordinated by the Centre for Gender and Science between 2017 and 2021. It also incorporates the work of the Standing Working Group on Gender in Research and Innovation (SWG GRI) of the European Research Area Commission and the FORGEN community of practice from the Horizon 2020 project ACT.

To achieve its objectives, GENDERACTIONplus focuses on mutual learning activities, knowledge exchange and provision of strategic policy advice to European and national R&I organisations. To advance the gender equality agenda with its key stakeholders, the project operates two Communities of Practice. One consists of representatives of ministries and national authorities, and the other of Research Funding Organisations (RFOs).

In 2022, we conducted a needs assessment survey in the two Communities of Practice and a mapping of policies and activities to support gender equality in R&I in the five thematic areas addressed by the project. These are:

• Intersectionality and inclusiveness
• Gender-based violence
• Gender dimensions in R&I
• Monitoring and evaluating of gender equality actions
• Promoting institutional change

In 2023, the project organised five workshops on key and topical issues related to gender equality in research.

The two Communities of Practice started working. For example, the RFO Community of Practice met in Milan in September 2023 to discuss the role of RFOs in mitigating gender-based violence. Among the participants was a delegation from the National Science Foundation, which was the first RFO to introduce measures to address sexual harassment. This workshop offered a space to exchange views and reflect on advancing policies and measures on gender-based violence in the European RFOs.

In addition, we published three more benchmark reports: the first focused on policies and measures to integrate the gender dimension in research and innovation, the second analysed the requirements for gender equality plans in research and innovation at the national and regional levels and the third addressed monitoring and evaluation of gender equality policies in the European Research Area.

The GENDERACTIONplus project opened its 2024 activities with a communication campaign on the occasion of its upcoming conference titled ERA of Inclusive Gender Equality, organised under the auspices of the Belgian Presidency of the EU Council.

In the first half of 2024, we developed a zero-tolerance template for addressing gender-based violence. We also published a position paper to increase the expertise of national contact points in the gender dimension of R&I content. Our most recent and final benchmark report addresses the need for a more inclusive approach to research careers.

In June 2024, a GENDERACTIONplus consortium meeting and a two-day workshop were held in Madrid, focusing on combating various forms of resistances that people promoting gender equality encounter in their work.

In the autumn of 2024, the GENDERACTIONplus project team is preparing for the final conference to be held in Brussels in February 2025.