Gender Equality Plan
A Gender Equality Plan, or GEP, is a crucial tool for addressing gender equality issues in a comprehensive and systematic way in a specific organization. The promotion of gender equality is currently deemed one of the obligations envisaged in the EU’s Horizon Europe funding programme. In other words, it is imperative for any entity aspiring to participate in Horizon Europe to develop and implement a GEP that meets the concrete needs of its environment. Gender equality issues are also embedded in the Sustainability Reporting Standards underlying the new CSRD reporting.
More specifically, a GEP contains of a set of targets that an organization commits to achieving within a given timeframe and provides an overview of actions and measures that are designed to contribute to attaining the set objectives. The process of integrating the gender dimension into other sectors, such as science and research, and promoting gender equality is comprised of four main phases:
- (i) analysis of the current situation within the organization and identification of the problem areas to be addressed in the GEP;
- (ii) setting up a GEP plan;
- (iii) implementation of the identified measures and actions, including their ongoing monitoring;
- (iv) assessment of the impact of the actions and measures outlined in the GEP on the situation in the organization.
Each GEP is thus individually designed according to the needs of the organization, usually for a period of 3-5 years.
The promotion of gender equality is nowadays routinely evaluated and addressed through national science and research programmes and academic grant competitions. It is therefore in the best interest of organizations intending to participate in such competitions to develop their own gender equality plan.
