Early Autumn 2021 was intense for the GEinCEE CoP, filled with meetings, including a webinar on GEPs and a series of trainings. We were also working on results and conclusions from GEAM survey conducted at member organisations and on sustainability of the CoP beyond the life span of the ACT project. The webinar Towards Inclusive GEPs held on 24th of September, was an open event that gathered 57 participants from both within and outside the GEinCEE CoP. It was dedicated to the specific context of the Central and Eastern European region and the development of GEPs. We hosted dr Anne Pepin from the European Commission, Research and Innovation Board who presented an overview of the new provisions for gender equality introduced in Horizon Europe Funding Programme, with a particular focus on the new eligibility criterion on Gender Equality Plans.
Dr Justyna Struzik, a sociologist from the Jagiellonian University, followed with a lecture on the concept of intersectionality as well as its application in research and designing gender equality measures and plans. Ewelina Ciaputa and dr Paulina Sekuła, the GEinCEE CoP’s facilitators, presented the CoP, its activities and plans for the future. The webinar participants also discussed plans of their institutions to develop GEPs as well as expectations towards GEinCEE CoP in support of this process.
A series of trainings and workshops conducted in Summer and early Autumn for GEinCEE CoP’s members included four topics – leadership skills, team building, implicit bias, and intersectionality. For the Lithuanian-speaking CoP members Irena Bulotienė, gestalt psychology consultant, master of enneagram, certified specialist in art therapy methods, conducted two art-couching trainings for development of leadership skills and team building. Trainings on implicit bias were conducted by Ewa Stoecker, an antidiscrimination trainer affiliated at the Jagiellonian University, in Polish and dr Claartje Vinkenburg, an independent expert consultant affiliated with Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, in English. Additionally, dr Struzik led a workshop on inclusion of intersectionality in the process of GEP development.
Basing on the GEAM survey conducted in 12 member organisations, CoP members prepared a policy brief with a summary of results, conclusions and recommendations for actions towards gender equality. The Policy brief will be disseminated soon to reach science policymakers, research funders, leaders of HEIs and RPOs, and the research community in CEE. The document was presented during the ACT Synthesis event. The presentation was followed by discussion on the accessibility of data on gender equality and needed resources for status-quo diagnosis.
We also worked on the idea of CoP’s sustainability beyond the lifespan of the ACT project, which finishes on 31st of October 2021. We decided to continue our cooperation with an updated Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) and agenda. The context of gender equality plans becoming an eligibility criterion in the Horizon Europe programme creates an additional push for our Community, as many member organisations are in the initial phase of their implementation. The process of signing a new MoU will start soon, so if you would like to join us in the upcoming years, please contact us at actongender@uj.edu.pl.