The genderAG working group in the House of Research
The genderAG in the House of Research is a working group spanning different organisations. The working group’s aim is to increase the visibility of the gender mainstreaming activities of individual organisations and therefore promote the issue of "equal opportunities for women and men in research jobs".
The genderAG working group was created in 2007 and consists of experts from Austrian Cooperative Research (ACR), the Christian Doppler Research Association (CDG), the Austrian Research Promotion Agency (FFG), the Austrian Science Fund (FWF) and Joanneum Research (JR). A large-scale event in November 2007 represented both the first focus of work and also the public kick-off. Together with experts from science and research, the decision-makers from the House of Research and policymakers discussed where the challenges lie for future equal opportunities policy and how the situation of women and men in research can be improved in terms of gender equality.
First action period (2008 to 2010)
For 2008 to 2010 the following activities were planned:
- Gender awareness seminars and in-depth gender training sessions
- Know-how transfer from the training activities in the House of Research
- Accompanying public relations work
Status quo
As part of the first action plan two events were held, gender training sessions were carried out in some of the organisations and regular exchanges were fostered between the organisations.
Second action period (2011 to 2013)
In the coming period, projects also need to cover different organisations, with existing knowledge exchanged and new content realised.
The genderAG working group has to act as an active source of inspiration to help ensure equal opportunities in the organisations. To reach the relevant target groups and to have a visible presence in public dialogue, targeted press releases and one event are scheduled.
As in the first period, the following goals are the priority here:
- Promoting the gender issue in the House of Research: Integrating gender mainstreaming more in the training activities of the respective organisations
- Improving public visibility
- Continuing the connection to the national and European dialogue