Equal opportunities at IOCB Prague

The mission of IOCB Prague is the pursuit of scientific knowledge through innovative research and the education of new generations of scientists.

We understand that the success and productivity of our researchers require a stable and supportive social environment.

We take into account the personal circumstances that might affect our employees and their partners and/or families and make every effort to support them in achieving a healthy work-life balance.

As an institute, we are committed to providing a positive working environment for all employees regardless of their nationality, gender, ethnicity, or disability status.

These principles have been formalized within the Equal Opportunities Plan, which was approved on 29 October 2021 and is effective through 31 December 2026.

• Blanka Collis, blanka.collisinvalid-email-name@invalid-email-domainuochb.cas.cz, +420 220 183 527

As of 15 July 2021, the institute employed a total of 898 employees (692.7 FTE), of which 439 were women and 459 were men, including academic staff, PhD students, and technical and administrative staff. Of this number, 214 staff members (23.8%) were foreign nationals.

Overall, the number of men and women at the institute is balanced. Of the scientific staff, the proportion of women is marginally lower (45.6%), while on the technical and administrative workforce there are more women than men (59.5%). This composition indicates a relatively gender-balanced workforce at IOCB Prague.

Among scientific staff, the percentage of women decreases as the level of seniority increases. The area where there is most scope for improvement is group leaders.

IOCB Prague is flexible in offering part-time employment in justified cases. This is important because part-time work is one of the solutions to the work-life balance problem for parents of young children and other caregivers.

IOCB Prague’s Women in Science initiative celebrates the achievements of female scientists and encourages employees (especially early career researchers) to take inspiration from them in informal settings. It organizes various events, such as discussions on childcare options and ways to facilitate the grant application process during maternity, and discussions with female foreign speakers from the IOCB Invited Lectures series.

• Childcare supplement for mothers returning to work before their child has reached the age of four years
• Financial support for parents of disabled children on a case-by-case basis
• Financial support for parents of young children traveling to conferences and workshops to help cover the cost of childcare in order to take their child to the conference with them
• Financial support for parents of children up to the age of 15 to cover the cost of a children’s camp
• Parent employees commuting to Prague from greater distances have priority in the allocation of parking spaces within the IOCB Prague campus.

Formally, IOCB Prague’s support for the equal-opportunity agenda is partly underpinned by the HR Excellence in Research Award.

An ethical proxy has been created, and two employees have been elected to the position (currently one male and one female).

At present, an equal opportunity officer position is being prepared, and the appointment of the officer is one of the targets of the Equal Opportunities Plan. 

The action targets of the Equal Opportunities Plan are broken down according to the planned timeline of their achievability.

• Equal Opportunities Plan available publicly and to employees ✔️
• Create a role of equal opportunities officer ✔️
• Gender-neutral language in job advertisements
• Publication of the equal-opportunity agenda on the intraweb and website
• Visibility of female researchers (invited lectures, personal career path workshops)
• Mapping the needs and requirements of employees at IOCB Prague
• Need to collect sex/gender disaggregated data on staff and students
• More women to apply for awards and IOCB Prague fellowships

• Awareness of possible bias in hiring decisions
• Training/mentoring available for underrepresented groups
• Ensuring that English and gender-neutral language is used in internal communication
• Transparency in internal issues relevant to equal opportunities
• Ensuring that anti-sexual harassment and bullying policy exists
• Raising awareness of the gender dimension in research and science

• Review of previously achieved goals and formulation of a new Equal Opportunities Plan
• Summary information on equal opportunities measures available to all candidates for the positions in the groups and Equal Opportunities Officer available to attend hiring interviews
• Mapping the needs and requirements of IOCB Prague employees