EU's Gender Equality Champion Awards: How Fairness Improves Science

• Gender equality in research is not merely about promoting women, but about creating environments where excellence flourishes and scientific quality improves.
• The EU Award for Gender Equality Champions honors institutions for implementing Gender Equality Plans (GEP), with this year’s winners from Czechia, Germany, Ireland, Slovenia, and Spain.
• Institutions are increasingly adopting intersectional approaches, recognizing that gender often overlaps with race, disability, age, and social background to create more inclusive research landscapes.

Institutional Efforts and Key Initiatives

• Jožef Stefan Institute (JSI), Slovenia: Addressed gender gaps in leadership by modernizing promotion rules, improving reporting systems for harassment, and fostering a culture where research covers all demographics.
• Bielefeld University, Germany: A long-term leader that increased its female professor proportion from 16% in 2003 to 38% in 2023 using a "toolbox" of over 120 practical measures for departments.
• Open University of Catalonia (UOC), Spain: Focuses on digital equality, managing risks of isolation in online environments, and formally recognizing "invisible" academic work such as administration and mentoring.
• Charles University, Czechia: Awarded for its first GEP introduced in 2022, which included hiring gender equality staff, establishing an ombudswoman, and launching childcare facilities.
• University College Cork, Ireland: Implemented comprehensive leave policies for fertility treatment, surrogacy, and pregnancy loss, with upcoming plans focusing on race and LGBTQ+ initiatives.

Impact on Research and Values

• Integrating gender perspectives creates multifaceted research, making it more robust and scientifically accurate; ignoring these factors is increasingly viewed as unscientific.
• The requirement to have a GEP to access Horizon Europe funding serves as a transformative driver for cultural and procedural change across European research institutions.
• Award-winning universities view these practices as a commitment to fundamental European values, including human rights, equality, and the rule of law.