GENDer equality in the ERA Community To Innovate policy implementatiON (GENDERACTION, Horizon 2020)

Gender equality is one of the five priorities of the European Research Area. It is today recognized that actions and policies must focus on legislative and especially institutional levels (cultural and institutional change) rather than seeing gender equality as something that concerns women and is up to women’s choices and behaviours. This shift from “fixing women” to “fixing institutions” and “fixing knowledge” marks an important recognition at policy level of the systemic barriers and disadvantages women face in research and innovation and the importance of the gender dimension in research and innovation.
It is also clear that actions must be taken by multiple actors beyond the European Commission: notably Member States, Research Funding Organizations (RFOs) and Research Performing Organizations (RPOs) and other stakeholders. Without sustained efforts by all these actors, gender equality will be difficult to achieve. Member States play a crucial role in this endeavour as they are responsible for creating the legislative and institutional environment.
This is where GENDERACTION comes into play. Funded by Horizon 2020, GENDERACTION is an innovative policy community set to advance the implementation of the gender priority in the ERA until 2020 and beyond. We are doing this through networking, sharing good practices and policy solutions and providing trainings to relevant stakeholders. We are a network of national representatives from EU Member States and Associated Countries.
In GENDERACTION we recognize that we are at different stages of gender equality implementation in Europe. We want to learn from these differences but also push for further advancement so that gender equality actions do not focus on partial topics that are perhaps less controversial such as work-life balance but also on the more comprehensive approaches embodied in the concept of cultural and institutional change. Cooperation with the ERAC Standing Working Group on Gender in Research and Innovation (SWG GRI) is a high priority for us, and some of the SWG GRI members are partners in the GENDERACTION consortium or act as members of the Advisory Group on ERA Priority 4 Implementation.
Our target groups for trainings, mutual learning, policy advice and communication include: national authorities and bodies related to ERA implementation and EU R&I policy, relevant members of the European Parliament, National Contact Points (NCPs), H2020 programme committee members, ERA Stakeholder Platform Organizations, EU-funded projects promoting gender equality in research organizations, European Institute for Gender Equality, European Platform of Women Scientists, and others.

Project website: genderaction.eu