Specific and measurable objectives of the project are:

1. Assess gender inequalities in the partner institutes through qualitative and quantitative data collection

2. Design and launch tailored Gender Equality Plans, which tackle specific challenges and barriers in each partner organisation

3. Remove gender-barriers and improve policies and practices in recruitment, especially at principal investigator level

4. Promote career development and offer training activities

5. Improve work-life balance at the research institutes

6. Raise awareness about the gender dimension of research, gather evidence and develop innovative training modules

7. Set measurable and realistic targets and carry out continuous monitoring via indicators

8. Disseminate the project results and reach out to other research institutions, industry, funding agencies, and policy makers

LIBRA is EC funded project which brings together ten research institutes in life sciences in ten European countries. They all are members of the alliance EU-LIFE, which aims to build and promote excellence in life sciences throughout Europe. Their commitment to excellence is also a commitment to gender equality. Together with the support of an expert organisation on gender, they will first assess their current policies and procedures to identify gender biases and obstacles. This will be a process of mutual learning that will finally lead to the design and implementation of ten harmonised and institute tailored Gender Equality Plans.

The Gender Equality Plans will aim to bring about long lasting and profound structural changes to remove institutional barriers and empower women to be equally successful as men in their research careers. Specifically, all Gender Equality Plans will address four main areas of interventions: