Gender

The European Commission puts an emphasis on gender balance in line with the European Research Area goals. For Horizon Europe, the EC has decided to specify the applicant´s requirements in order to ensure gender balance and equal opportunities.

Beginning from 2022, certain types of beneficiaries of Horizon Europe projects will have to publish their Gender Equality Plans (GEP). The types of beneficiaries in question are all public institutions, research organizations, and universities or other higher education establishments. The GEP should be made public, the institutions need to allocate funds for the management of the GEP´s goals, it should include regular monitoring and data collection and ensure training for the members of the institution:

You can learn more about gender equality plan from this webinar by the EU Commission.

Gender aspects also need to be addressed within the project proposal´s Excellence section. Namely, it should address how gender balance will be ensured in terms of people working on the project or in terms of collected or measured data.

Naturally, gender balance should be encouraged when creating the project research teams. In fact, a well-balanced gender approach might give your proposal an advantage during the evaluation stage.

You can find more information about gender issues on the website of the National Contact Center for gender and science, a Technology Centre´s partner.