Gender Equality Plans: united in diversity? - with Catarina Valente

Welcome back to The Insider!

"United in diversity", the motto of the European Union, first came into use in 2000 but never made so much sense in the research and innovation domain as it does now that the EU not only made explicit its objectives for gender equality in research but is actively pursuing institutional change in research performing organisations, higher education institutions and research funding organisations. 

Today we will be exploring not the numbers and the principles, as we assume you are agree there is work ahead of us towards equality and that this is an important aspect to address. We will be exploring gender issues from the perspective of someone supporting the management of a research institution and that recently had to develop the so-called Gender Equality Plan, which is now compulsory for all research performing organisation and higher education institutions to participate in Horizon Europe projects.

In order to do that, I have here with me Catarina Valente who is part of the interface and co-creation unit, at INESC INOV, she is a researcher with a background in gender issues in research and technology development and is now researching climate resilience and community building.

More to the point, for the purpose of our conversation, Catarina coordinated the development of the Gender Equality Plan of INESC INOV.

We’re also giving you a brief rundown of this week’s top headlines from our Morning Brief newsletter, highlighting the energy crisis in Europe and the two dividing perspectives. One reinforcing the need to step away from non-renewable sources of energy such as oil, that was mostly provided by Russia and enforce the European Green Deal and another which is pushing European oil and coal producing countries to step up their production so that there are no shortages in the coming winter.

Here are some of the events coming up that you should keep an eye out for:

·        The KTD Consultation Workshop on Silicon Photonics: The KTD Consultation Workshop on Silicon Photonics is happening March 30. Register here;

·        Don't miss the event on Energy Efficiency - A science advice perspective, on March 28th, hosted by MEP Miapetra Kumpula-Natri, Co-chair of the European Parliament Intergroup on ‘Climate Change, Biodiversity and Sustainable Development’. Register here;

·        The European Commission’s Scientific Advice Mechanism warmly invites everyone working at the science-policy interface to explore the key challenges of delivery science advice under pressure between 27 and 28 April. Register here;

·        DG CNECT is organising an information session on Tuesday 29 March between 14.30-16.30 to present the main elements of the European Chips Act, as well as the preliminary timeline for its adoption. Register here;

·        Don't miss the World Entrepreneurs Investment Forum 2022, it will play a vital role in exposing the power of Entrepreneurs and Innovators in creating partnerships to secure a prosperous future and sustainable solutions for the globe challenges. Register here;

·        On Tuesday, March 29th, another edition of the iStartLab MeetUps at Técnico Lisbon will happen, this time dedicated to the iStartLab Internet-of-Things (IoT) System and on how it can be used to create solutions for real-life problems. Click here to register.