ERA-NET Cofund Promoting Gender Equality in H2020 and the ERA

Project Information

GENDER NET Plus

Grant agreement ID: 741874

DOI

10.3030/741874

Project closed

EC signature date 19 May 2017

Start date 15 September 2017

End date 14 September 2023

Funded under

• Promote gender equality in particular by supporting structural change in the organisation of research institutions and in the content and design of research activities

Total cost

€ 13 554 127,00

EU contribution

€ 3 768 310,24

Coordinated by

CENTRE NATIONAL DE LA RECHERCHE SCIENTIFIQUE CNRS
France

Periodic Reporting for period 2 - GENDER NET Plus (ERA-NET Cofund Promoting Gender Equality in H2020 and the ERA)

Reporting period: 2018-09-15 to 2023-09-14

Summary of the context and overall objectives of the project

The GENDER-NET Plus project has provided a unique opportunity to advance gender equality in research, particularly the integration of gender analysis into research content (IGAR). Building on the outcomes of the GENDER-NET project (2013-2016), GENDER-NET Plus (2017-2023) addressed the issue of IGAR, which is too rarely taken into account by the gender equality policies of European Research performing organizations (RPOs) and Research funding organizations (RFOs).
GENDER-NET Plus has completed its success story in 2023 by organizing its final dissemination conference in Brussels on 13-14 February.
It is an ERA-NET Cofund selected under the Horizon 2020 WIDERA programme that started in September 2017. The project gathers 16 research funding organisations from 13 countries (Austria, Belgium, Canada, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Finland, France, Estonia, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Norway, Spain, Sweden). In 2018, they launched a co-funded joint call aiming to promote the integration of sex, gender and intersectional dimension into research in addressing societal challenges linked to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. The applicants were invited to explore interactions and interdependencies explicitly between SDG 5 Gender Equality and one or more of the following SDGs: SDG 3 Good health and well-being, SDG 9 Infrastructure, Industrialization and Innovation, and SDG 13 Climate Action. 75 applications were submitted out of which 13 were finally selected for co-funding, involving around 400 researchers from 56 research performing organizations. They have produced very innovative scientific results with high societal impact by bringing together researchers from various disciplines, countries and institutions, enabling new research collaborations and novel knowledge. Their scientific results show that the integration of sex and gender analysis in research is crucial to produce inclusive science, avoiding gender-blind and -biased research methods and benefiting society as a whole.
In addition, the GENDER-NET Plus Consortium partners have published key reports on :1) National and regional initiatives promoting gender equality in research institutions through structural change; 2) A Comparative analytical report on existing national and regional initiatives on the integration of the gender dimension in research content; 3) A Study on gender equality in research in research funding, as well as a Policy brief on Promoting gender equality in research funding.
GENDER-NET Plus is thus playing a major role in addressing the challenge of ‘Gender equality and gender mainstreaming in research’ identified as one of the policy goals of the European Research Area.

Work performed from the beginning of the project to the end of the period covered by the report and main results achieved so far

The GENDER-NET Plus joint call was launched in December 2017 and closed in March 2018. 75 pre-proposals were submitted and after a two-step evaluation process involving external reviewers as well as a Scientific Evaluation Committee Gender-Net Plus announced on its website the final selection of 13 projects in December 2018. They started during year 2019 and were closely monitored on various aspects ranging from their project management, integration of gender analysis into research to their socio-economic impact, for which 25 indicators have been elaborated. The projects ended at the beginning of 2023, GENDER-NET having benefited of a one-year extension due to the covid pandemic.
In parallel and with the contribution of all the partners of the consortium, additional activities have been launched, pursuing the work initiated under the former GENDER-NET ERA-NET project on the follow-up mapping of gender equality measures throughout the European research and innovation area, as well as of national/regional initiatives on the integration of the gender dimension in research contents. In addition, a new European-scaled data collection and analysis was being led in order to assess gender differences and bias in accessing to research grant. A policy brief on Promoting gender equality in research funding was published in February 2022.
Throughout the duration of the project, continuous efforts have been made to disseminate tailored content to various target groups: press and website release, as well as promotional posters and e-flyers to announce the launch of the call and news (through website and social media) until the final selection of the projects. Since the 13 selected projects started, summary fact sheets have been designed and put online on the GENDER-NET Plus website and projects-related contents have been relayed or created through social media on a daily basis. Interviews of the principal investigators have been video-recorded and released through YouTube, as well as a workshop on IGAR and the final dissemination conference.

Progress beyond the state of the art and expected potential impact (including the socio-economic impact and the wider societal implications of the project so far)

The 13 scientific projects co-funded within the GENDER-NET Plus have produced innovative scientific results with high societal impact by bringing together researchers from various disciplines, countries and institutions, enabling new research collaborations. Novel knowledge and methods on how to integrate sex, gender and intersectionality in research were developed, which helped to raise awareness on this issue among the broader scientific community trough conferences and publications. 144 academic papers where published, out of which 13 of in gender journals and 131 in other journals (91 %). This constitutes a major contribution to mainstreaming gender knowledge in general scientific journals in different research fields, going beyond gender journals.
GENDER-NET Plus initiatives have contributed to create 87 research jobs for young researchers (78,2% young women researchers), which means a great socio-economic impact from the projects and indicates concern on early-career researchers among the GENDER-NET Plus community.
The contribution of the projects to the achievement of UN SDGs constitutes also an important socio-economic impact. The GENDER-NET Plus projects have contributed to produce new knowledge that will help design better policies to prevent violence against women and ensure the fulfillment of women’s human right to health, thus contributing to achieve SDG 3 (Good health and well-being) and SDG 5 (Gender equality). Other projects have produced knowledge and new evidence for SDG 9 (Industry, innovation and infrastructures) in connection to SDG5, and also for SDG 13 (Climate Action).
The involvement of civil society, policy makers and different stakeholders in several initiatives helps increasing the capacity for decision-making and adaptation, especially in the field of health and social services. With regard to transfer of results to the market and society, a few projects will engage with pharmaceutical companies to discuss how future clinical trials can use their results.

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