Gender Equality, Ethics

Working Group 1 summary – Gender and Ethics

Summary and update of Working Group 1 Action Plan.

Jun 29, 2023

The WBC-RRI.NET project aims to promote Responsible Research and Innovation (RRI) principles in the Western Balkan Research and Innovation (R&I) ecosystems to enhance self-sustaining R&I systems in the region. The project is divided into two parts:

  • one that focuses on embedding RRI into local ‘anchor activities’ in different ecosystems, and
  • another that aims to establish a network of like-minded science managers and scientists to promote RRI in the region through three working groups.

The working groups are:

  • Gender and Ethics
  • Science Education and Public Engagement
  • Open Science and Open Access.

The working groups are led by a core group of people and are open for others to join at any point. Interested individuals can fill out a survey to express their interest in joining the working groups and their activities. Below you’ll find the activities of the Working Group “Gender and Ethics”.

1. Identify the level of understanding of Ethics related issues in HEIs/RPOs and setting the institutional standards

  • Main aim is to carry out a research project to map the state of art in ethics-related issues in the WB region
  • Plan of action includes identifying research questions, developing questionnaires, data collection, report findings, joint writing of journal article, and promoting institutional standards at workshops
  • Expected outcomes include increasing knowledge of ethics-related activities and policies in the WB region, publications, networking, and capacity building

2. Exchange of experience on Gender Equality Plans (GEPs)

  • The action aims to promote gender equality by exchanging experience on Gender Equality Plan (GEP) preparation, implementation, evaluation, and monitoring through a Community of Practice.
  • The expected outcomes include the exchange of experience, blog-posts covering examples of GEPs, and engagement of high-level stakeholders.
  • The action has collected examples and made them easily accessible, organized a virtual event, and published blog-posts covering GEP.

3. Activities related to the aspect of “Gender-based violence including sexual harassment”

  • Aims to raise awareness about gender-based violence and sexual harassment in universities and research organizations
  • The plan of action includes sharing UniSAFE research findings via blog posts and social media, introducing UniSAFE operational tools and recommendations through a dedicated event, and linking UniSAFE with WBC-RRI.NET.
  • The expected outcome is awareness raising in the region, and the other involved actors include WG members and UniSAFE.

4. Ethics issues in research – setting the institutional standards (merged with Action 1)

5. GE podcasts

  • Aims to introduce key aspects related to topics that the project aims to increase awareness about, providing basic knowledge in the field for communication and awareness purposes. The podcasts cover various topics related to gender and ethics, with potential for expansion into other RRI keys.
  • The podcasts involve speakers providing background information on the topic they will be addressing, with the responsible person preparing the overall script and questions.
  • The expected outcomes include increased awareness and knowledge, as well as increased visibility.

6. Discussing Ethics Governance System for RRI in Higher Education and Research Performing Organization

  • Aims to discuss the applicability of EU-funded projects such as ETHNA and SOPs4RRI in the region.
  • The plan of action involves organizing a public event to introduce the projects and their results, interviews with project members, and blog posts summarizing the feedback.
  • The expected outcomes include raising awareness in the region, avoiding duplication, and creating synergies with other projects.

For more information, take a look at our detailed update of the Working Group 1 Action Plan.