The Gender Equality Plan is taking shape

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The Gender Equality Plan is taking shape

Last 20th of May, the TeRRItoria project participated in a Virtual poster session held within the context of the NewHoRRIzon Final Conference. The session was dedicated to ongoing RRI projects and their initiatives/activities, which were presented during a virtual poster exhibition through separate breakout rooms. TeRRItoria was represented by Prof. George Eleftherakis, from the South-East European Centre (SEERC). George presented the overall rationale and aims of TeRRItoria and then illustrated the experiment in the Region of Central Macedonia (RCM) and the development of a Gender Equality Plan (GEP) in the region’s R&I field and corresponding organisations. RCM and SEERC wish to achieve some gender equality-related objectives in higher education and in the Research and Innovation fields, especially within the fields of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM). The first draft of the regional GEP was co-designed and emerged as a product of TeRRItoria’s cooperation with regional Quadruple Helix stakeholders (including citizens), as well as within the context of the collaboration between the authorities of RCM and SEERC. The most important actors of the region (not only the academic institutions) were involved in co-design process and are also aware of the recent achievements of the project.

RCM is a public body that wants to establish their role as a pioneer in gender equality and continue in this direction by undertaking projects related to the topic in the coming years. Recently, SEERC and RCM also hosted (virtually) within the TeRRItoria context the event/panel discussion “The gender dimension in R&I organisations: exploring career progression, the leadership ‘gap’ and sexual harassment”.  Four speakers-experts to gender issues addressed and discussed the challenges of sexual harassment in the workplace and female career progress. 

Final event for the GEP and next steps

In autumn, a final implementation event is foreseen. During this occasion, the final draft of the GEP will be presented in-depth and analysed by the regional stakeholders. RCM and SEERC hope for a collaborative discussion about the GEP, which will lead to the endorsement (and signing) of the document by the representatives of major regional R&I organisations. If they sign it, remaining regional R&I actors will also be encouraged to sign as well, and the GEP can then come into force.

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