Recruitment, promotion and retention procedures often favour a social group and disadvantage others. The mechanisms leading to this inequality are not always obvious. Guidelines can be circumvented, procedures can have unintended effects. Refined Gender Action Plans can establish procedures and structures that reduce bias and inequality in the recruitment and promotion of researchers. Well-grounded gender policies not only add to justice women but they can also create a more productive working climate and retain highly qualified and motivated staff in RTD.

The target group of this workshop are research institutions in Europe, who want to implement or improve Gender Action Plans. Targeted participants are persons responsible for implementing gender equality policies. At this workshop participants will - supported by gender experts - develop specific and feasible Gender Action Plans, which they can take home for implementation at their organisation or company. Experts having confirmed to attend the workshop include Prof. Alison Woodward (Vrije Universiteit Brussel) and Prof. Ulrike Felt (University of Vienna). Further experts will be invited according to the specific demands of the participating organisations.

This workshop offers
- extensive information on Gender Action Plans, in general and in respect to individual requests,
- an exchange of experiences and ideas among those advocating gender equity at their different research organisations; and
- support by highly qualified gender experts responding to participant’s individual requests.

The workshop agenda will be drafted interactively by participants and organisers together. Participants will actively co-develop it by submitting their ideas, requirements, and questions. Online conferences on specific topics will be offered.

During the two-day workshop in Vienna most of the time will be dedicated to developing, adapting or refining Gender Action Plans interactively with other participants and gender experts, which are to be introduced at the respective organisations of the participants.

Additionally there will be online discussions (web conferences, Skype) in small groups with highly specialised and renowned experts, who will give advice on real problems and help to evaluate available evidence in the light of the participants’ own institutional circumstances. Topics will be selected according to the specific requirements of participants.

Interactive Preparation Phase: December 2010 – April 2011
Vienna Workshop: May 19-20, 2011, Campus of the University of Vienna, Seminar room of the Institute for Ethics and Law in Medicine, Old Chapel, court 2.8, Vienna, Austria
Support Phase: June – Autumn 2011

There is no conference fee, during the workshop lunches are free. Places are limited! Registrations are handled on a first come – first serve basis.

Further information on the workshop is available at http://wilawien.ac.at/genset/ or send your requests to Wissenschaftsladen Wien – Science Shop Vienna, wilawien@wilawien.ac.at.

This workshop is part of the genSET project, which is funded by the European Commission under FP7 and is supported by a network of leading pan-European science institutions as patrons, among others, Fraunhofer and the European Science Foundation.
 

Source: Information provided by organisers.