About the
workshop Advancing
gender-fair recruitment and retention strategies in RTD
The workshop took place from 19 - 20 May 2011 at the Campus of the University of Vienna.
Recruitment, promotion and retention procedures often favour a social group and disadvantage others. The mechanisms leading to this inequality are not always obvious. Guidelines can be circumvented, procedures can have unintended effects. Refined Gender Action Plans can establish procedures and structures that reduce bias and inequality in the recruitment and promotion of researchers. Well-grounded gender policies not only add to justice for women but can also create a more productive working climate and retain highly qualified and motivated staff in RTD.
The target group of this workshop were
research institutions in Europe, who want to implement or
improve Gender Action Plans. Targeted participants were persons
responsible for implementing gender equality policies. At this
workshop participants - supported by gender experts - developed
specific and feasible Gender Action Plans, which they could take
home for implementation at their organisation or company.
Experts having confirmed to attend the workshop include Alison E.
Woodward (Vrije Universiteit Brussel) and
Ulrike Felt (University of Vienna).
This workshop offered
- exchange of experiences and ideas among those advocating gender equity at their different research organisations,
- reflection of gender policies and guidelines in respect to potential impact and feasibility, and
- support by highly qualified gender experts responding to participant’s individual requests on specific topics.
The workshop in May - as well as the webinars following it - was tailored to the demands of the registered research organisations. Before the agenda was drafted, participants were invited to submit their specific ideas, requirements, and questions. According to the feedback, the workshop was organised in a highly interactive way to facilitate the exchange of experience and concepts between an international group of persons engaged in gender policy implementation in different institutional environments.
During the two-day workshop in Vienna most of the time was dedicated to developing, adapting or refining - interactively with other participants and gender experts - Gender Action Plans, which are to be introduced at the respective organisations of the participants.