As part of the European Commission Gender Equality Strategy 2020-2025, the European Commission is committed to promoting gender equality in research and innovation. This is alongside the well-established regulatory framework within the EU on gender equality which apply widely across the labour market including the research sector. Because of the peculiarities of the research sector, specific action is needed to overcome persisting gender gaps. Many structural barriers to gender equality in research and innovation persist.
The European Commission is now making institutional gender equality plans a precondition for securing funding from Horizon Europe, the framework programme for research and innovation. The precondition is part of the plans drawn up by the European Commission for promoting gender equality (Gender Equality Strategy 2020-2025; Gender Equality in the European Research Area). From 2022, every legal entity (government body, research or higher education institution) must have a gender equality plan in order to be eligible for funding from Horizon Europe.
As a participating research organization, Eindhoven University of Technology (TU/e) and its Executive Board (EB) have supported these robust actions as part of our own commitment towards gender equality within our academic community and in the wider academic environment it resides in.
Over the last decade TU/e has developed many measures and activities to address gender equality: from raising awareness on gender equality, training opportunities and policy measures to ensure inclusive recruitment, career progression and decision making. This is a strategic priority for TU/e for the coming years.
In the attached Gender Equality Plan you can find the measures, activities and polices that have been developed and implemented to support our goals. It also includes planned initiatives for the years to come. With continued efforts we will contribute, now and in the future, to gender equality in academia.