GENDER-NET

Despite more and more solid indicators, extensive research, policy initiatives at European and national levels, and wide awareness-raising on the issues linked to gender and science, the European Research Area is still confronted to structural obstacles within its research institutions which prevent the ERA from reaching its objectives on the full participation of women in research and innovation at all levels (while women comprise >50% of PhD graduates, they still occupy less than 20% of Grade A positions) as well as to a lack of integration of the gender dimension in research contents and programmes which hinders their quality and potential for innovation.
With the aim of collectively addressing these issues, the GENDER-NET ERA-NET proposal brings together national ministries and research programme owners and managers from 11 countries with synergistic expertise in gender issues in research. Partners will join forces to: 1) map and analyse existing national/regional programmes and initiatives aimed at a) promoting gender equality in research and higher education institutions through structural change, b) gendering research contents; 2) identify priority activities for strategic transnational implementation; 3) design and optimise transnational transferability; 4) implement these joint activities. GENDER-NET thus consists of 4 work packages which build on one another to propose a pilot transnational research policy initiative which will allow for a global vision of the best practices and conditions for success, innovative assessment and knowledge-transfer methods, as well as concrete engagement of partners in the implementation of joint activities, thus breaking new ground at EU-level and contributing to the realisation of ERA. Expanding outcomes by relying on the shared expertise and insight gained by partners, widening the consortium to reach a critical mass of institutions and stakeholders, and disseminating results, will be ongoing concerns of this ERA-NET.