Gender Equality and Inclusion

Gender equality and inclusion efforts are guided by the EU Gender Equality Strategy (2020-2025) that highlights the following key areas: freedom from violence and stereotypes, thriving in a gender-equal economy, leading equally throughout society, gender mainstreaming and funding and promoting gender equality and women’s empowerment across the world. Gender and inclusion are also underlined in the Horizon Europe Legal base and Strategic Plan 2025-2027.

“Horizon Europe sets gender equality as a crosscutting principle and aims to eliminate gender inequality and intersecting socio-economic inequalities throughout research and innovation systems, including by addressing unconscious bias and systemic structural barriers” (EC, 2022)

The EU Gender equality is addressed in Horizon Europe via the following main tenets:

• Having a Gender Equality Plan (GEP).
• The integration of a gender dimension into research and innovation content.
• Increasing gender balance throughout the programme.

Funding is also specifically dedicated to gender and intersectional research, inclusive gender equality policies and empowering women innovators. Beyond formal consideration of such aspects, partnerships can also embark on a more ambitious agenda of addressing the causes of gender inequality and exclusion, while recognising the distinct challenges and opportunities within specific areas and sectors. In this context, is useful to distinguish the spectrum of approaches to gender issues and strive for approaches that go beyond sensitivity and awareness to gender issues but are more focused on response and transformation.