From reflection to action: gender equality plans that make a difference
For a gender equality plan to make a difference, it must be more than a formal requirement. Designing an effective plan is a complex and continuous process that requires in-depth widespread reflection, data analysis, and strategic action. At the University of Turin, the MINDtheGEPs project has been instrumental in turning the challenge of developing a plan to improve gender equality into a structured, impactful initiative.
According to Cristina Solera, coordinator of the MINDtheGEPs project and sociologist at the University of Turin, MINDtheGEPs was an accelerating opportunity for the University. The plan would have been put in place regardless of the project, as gender equality plans have become a requirement for organisations that want access to funding from the Horizon programme. However, MINDtheGEPs allowed actors at the University of Turin to create a critical mass, with a competent, interdisciplinary and dedicated project team and a structured network between departments, and provided financial resources to make change happen.
Developing a gender quality plan requires more than just meeting basic requirements. The process needs to start with reflection and research, followed by a phase of data collection, pinpointing where action is needed by analysing inequalities, and understanding the factors behind them. From there, the work to design targeted actions, build alliances, and continuously evaluate what works and what doesn’t start: adapting the plan when needed.
With MINDtheGEPs providing the necessary support, Cristina Solera and her team at the University of Turin moving beyond compliance of formal requirements towards meaningful action. Designing gender equality plans for sustainable change requires spaces across disciplines, where one can reflect on evidence-based and theoretically-driven gender imbalances.
But, as Cristina Solera emphasizes, these cultural actions are not enough. It is necessary to create or reinforce figures and bodies that will last beyond the MINDtheGEPs project timeline, that have the skills and the legitimacy to keep working on analysing and contrasting gender inequalities. For example, a gender data analyst, gender equality manager and a GEP implementing board. The efforts need to be sustained. Therefore, governance structures need to be made permanent, and people need to be tasked with collecting data, think, reflect and design policies.
Making informal groups and networks has its merits: it can make spaces more horizontal and innovative. However, the downside is that they become invisible. This is why it is important to negotiate for institutionalization, and for that to happen, recognition is necessary. For gender equality, that means having both the figures and the spaces that are needed for the organisation to go on with data collection, analysis, and designing policy.
Do you want to know more?
By Fanny Klingvall