At the Institute of Physics, we promote equal opportunities, diversity and inclusion. This approach helps us to create a positive work culture and a welcoming environment for all our employees. The principles of diversity, equality and inclusion are anchored within the FZU Equality and Diversity Plan.

 

The Institute of Physics of the CAS (FZU) has been the recipient of the HR Excellence in Research Award since 26 April 2019. Receiving this award is a sign of compliance with European standards in the field of employee care and personnel management, which includes the topics of equality and diversity.

The first Gender Equality Plan was prepared at FZU in December 2021. This action plan was gradually implemented in the period 2022-2023. In the period 2024-2026, we are following up with a new Equality and Diversity Plan, which includes not only gender equality but also equal opportunities, diversity and inclusion in a broader sense. These activities are being implemented in the FZU by the Equality and Diversity Panel and its implementation is overseen by the HR Award Steering Committee. 

The plan consists of a set of actions in five focus areas:

  1. Work-life balance and organisational culture
  2. Gender balance in leadership and decision-making
  3. Equal opportunities in recruitment, selection and career development 
  4. Integration of the gender dimension into research  
  5. Prevention of gender-based violence and sexual harassment 

These activities, which we continue to work on, are a part of the HR Award 2024-2026 Action Plan.

Gender-balanced expression in the academic and research environment

Language plays a fundamental role in shaping reality - the way we name things and people creates social reality and shapes how we relate to the world. Language has the power to make present or exclude different phenomena or groups of people from participation in public life, depending on whether and how we do or do not talk about them.

Even in research settings, language and communication can play a large part in shaping social patterns, including stereotypes and inequalities (e.g. through the maintenance of a generic masculine). For example, when presenting the results of scientific work, the unbalanced use of gender-sensitive language unfairly de-emphasises women and their achievements.

Therefore, we at FZU strive to use language in a gender-balanced way. We have put together a guide which explains the topic and gives practical examples to show how to do this. The document is currently available in Czech, and we are working on an English version.

For more inspiration on the topic, see the following video:

Verify your understanding of the topic at this link.

Integrating the Gender Dimension into Research

FZU has been addressing the topic of gender dimension in research since 2021, when we started to implement the first Gender Equality Plan (2021-2023). The integration of gender dimension into research is also one of the key areas of the new Equality and Diversity Plan for the period 2024-2026.  

Our aim is to look at the possibilities of applying the gender dimension in a physics research environment. Although the inclusion of this dimension is not typical of our scientific context, we can still assess specific practices where such consideration of biological differences (sex) or diversity in the experiences and needs of different groups of people (gender) might be of greatest benefit to all.  

In order to understand the topic, we have prepared a framework document that addresses the integration of the gender dimension in research. This document can be an inspiration to some of our scientists whose object of research is people, or whose scientific outcome directly affects people and their quality of life. 

Have a look at the video from the Nora Gender Information Centre, which was produced as part of the project "Prevention of Gender-Based Violence in Work Environment of Czech Public Research Institutions and Universities."

Verify your understanding of the topic at this link.