GENDERACTIONplus is the new European project for gender equality

GENDERACTIONplus, a consortium of 26 organizations, including FCT, comprising 21 European countries, began its work on June 8, with a kick-off meeting in Prague, Czech Republic. Its fundamental objective is to promote gender equality in Research and Development in the context of the European Research Area (ERA).

Funded by Horizon Europe, a European Union funding program started in 2021, GENDERACTIONplus seeks to align with the guidelines for gender equality of the new ERA Policy Agenda for the period 2022-2024. The project focuses on five thematic areas: intersectionality and inclusion (inclusive research careers); gender violence in academia; the gender dimension in research content; monitoring mechanisms and indicators; the development of a monitoring and evaluation system for the implementation and impact of Gender Equality Plans as a tool to promote institutional change in the new European Research Area.

Marcela Linkova, coordinator of the project, points out that "gender violence and sexual harassment remain a fundamental problem, and we have to develop better tools to promote intersectionality and diversity. Another important issue is the monitoring and evaluation of gender equality plans and their impact [...]. This is a great opportunity to generate progress on all these topics in an excellent and motivated European consortium."

GENDERACTIONplus is the successor of GENDERACTION, developed with funding from the Horizon 2020 program, and seek to continue the work already developed and respond to the new (and old) challenges identified, incorporating inputs from the Standing Working Group on Gender in Research and Innovation (active 2017-2021) and the FORGEN community of practice.