The Gender STI project applauds the recent Ljubljana Declaration on gender equality in research and innovation, which acknowledges the importance of gender equality to the integrity and societal responsibility of research and urges signatories to be proactive in the creation of an inclusive scientific community.
The declaration was crafted under the Slovenian presidency of the Council of the European Union. It aims to fully acknowledge gender mainstreaming as a horizontal principal and work to advance progress in six priority areas, such as gender equality in research careers, mutual learning between governments, and Gender Equality Plans, among others.
The declaration was endorsed by 37 parties, including the European Commission, European Union Member States, Associated Countries, Accession Countries, and third countries. It also had support from the European Research Area and Innovation Committee (ERAC) and the Standing Working Group on Gender in Research and Innovation (SWG GRI).
The Gender STI project, which investigates gender equality in bilateral and multilateral STI agreements between Europe and third countries, believes the declaration will set an important precedent in the drafting of new agreements and renewal of existing agreements, establishing gender equality provisions in science, technology, and innovation as necessary for the advancement and prosperity of society.
Simona Kustec, Slovenia’s minister for education, science, and sport, presented the declaration to the public and said it would trigger “new inclusive ways of life for all.”
“The Ljubljana Declaration will bear fruit in the new, revitalised European Research Area (ERA) as an ERA Policy Agenda Action on promoting gender equality and fostering inclusiveness, delivered over the next 3 years,” she said in a statement.
The declaration’s six priority areas are as follows:
- Ensure fair, open, inclusive and gender equal career paths in research, and consider intersectional perspectives on gender inequalities;
- Facilitate mutual learning opportunities through form-follows-function robust governance;
- Employ existing and newly developed tools, such as Gender Equality Plans, to facilitate systemic institutional change and remove institutional barriers;
- Address and counteract gender-based violence;
- Support active monitoring and evaluation to ensure continuous improvement; and
- Leverage synergies to enhance gender equality achievements within the European Research Area, but also within complementary fields such as the European Higher Education Area, Cohesion policy funds, innovation ecosystems, as well as in international cooperation.
You can read the declaration in full here.
