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New European Commission report: Approaches to inclusive gender equality in research and innovation

Oct 11, 2022 | Blog

‘Approaches to inclusive gender equality in research and innovation (R&I)’ is a new report published by the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Research and Innovation.

The report examines the development of inclusive gender equality actions by national authorities, research funding organisations, and research performing organisations, and provides a review of existing inclusive gender equality plans (GEPs) and policies. Promoting the development of inclusive GEPs aims to support the inclusion and equal opportunity of students, researchers and staff from diverse backgrounds in European R&I systems, taking into consideration intersections with other social characteristics, such as ethnicity, disability and sexual orientation.

Is gender-based violence addressed in GEPs and policies?

The report states that whilst “some member states have national laws or action plans that address gender-based violence (GBV), actions focused specifically on research and innovation are rare or less well developed.”

Having reviewed policies and measures on GBV in universities and research organisations in 15 European countries, UniSAFE’s research is featured in the report’s section on RPOs actions. These actions often include the extension of sexual harassment policies to incorporate other forms of harassment and discrimination.

At the RPO level there are more examples of codes of conduct that address harassment and gender-based violence (Huck et al 2022)