Gender in EU project.

In EU project (being H2020 or ERC), we are asked to do a “Gender Equality Plan” and to take care about gender issues. I think that this is very important. We definitely need to take care about gender at recruitment level and to take care about gender balance. However, to care about gender inequality does not only refer to gender balance in the teams in charge of carrying out the projects but also to plan research and innovation activities with the goal of inspiring a new generation of women in space.  Gender dimension brings a vision that goes beyond the line of sight. It is not only about statistics on the number of male and female researchers in a specific field or gender balance in the Consortium but here are some paths to follow: (1) becoming gender-sensitive, (2) integrating an in-depth understanding of both genders’ needs, behaviours, and attitudes, (3) promoting our sector to young girls at the level of schools or universities, and (4) being aware about unconscious gender biases. Gender bias is the tendency to prefer one gender over another gender. Several studies found that both men and women prefer male job candidates. So much so that, in general, I have found on the web that a man is 1.5 times more likely to be hired than a woman when both are equal-performing candidates. Bias is a systemic prejudice for, or against something or someone, based on for instance stereotypes. When preparing newsletters for my EU project about that, I came through several examples about ways in which women and men are often held to different standards in the workplace. I think that this is interesting to know. This is what I propose to share with you.