Presentation of the Gender Equality Plan
The Action Plan presented by INESC TEC’s Diversity and Inclusion (D&I) Commission includes 57 concrete measures to achieve “equality of treatment and opportunities between sexes at INESC TEC and to improve the work-life balance of all collaborators”.
On July 14, the D&I Commission of INESC TEC presented the Gender Equality Plan 2022-2026 during an online session. The document aims to promote good practices in the field of gender equality, to achieve the objectives defined by the institution in this area.
This initiative aimed to present the Gender Equality Plan to the members of the INESC TEC community, a document designed and proposed by the D&I Commission and formally approved by the Board of Directors, constituting an openly assumed commitment to gender equality.
“Still, the Gender Equality Plan is both an objective and a responsibility common to the entire INESC TEC community. Hence, achieving gender equality at INESC TEC will be a cross-cutting transformation process, to which everyone must contribute every day: in all processes, policies, messages, decisions and opportunities. The Gender Equality Plan will guide and serve this purpose”, said Graça Barbosa, member of INESC TEC’s Board of Directors responsible for the D&I dimension.
According to Beatriz Oliveira, coordinator of the D&I Commission, “the discussion that followed the presentation of the Plan was very interesting, as it demonstrated the willingness and interest among the INESC TEC community to explore this topic. In fact, gender equality must be the responsibility of every Centre and Service, as well as of every person. This is the only way to achieve the results of the proposals introduced today”.
The Women in STEM Initiative
On July 6, INESC TEC organised the Women in STEM event, in order to discuss the importance of the representation of women in said areas (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics).
The event featured keynote speakers Ana Freitas (AMONET – Portuguese Association of Women in Science) and Melyssa Fratkin (TACC – Texas Advanced Computing Center), with a presentation by Graça Barbosa; Sheila Góis Habib was responsible for the moderation of this session, a space to discuss and explore relevant topics to this dimension.
“This initiative made it possible to conclude that, even though there are women in STEM occupying key positions, with proven success, there is still a lot of work to be done to achieve a balance in equal rights and opportunities in these areas”, said Tiago Gonçalves, INESC TEC researcher and member of D&I Commission.
“One of the Commission’s goals is to raise the community’s awareness of this type of question, and the sharing of information and knowledge is crucial for people to generate empathy and understand certain topics. Moreover, and since this was a joint effort between the D&I Commission, the International Relations Service (SRI) and the Communication Service (SCOM) of INESC TEC, we can conclude that this type of synergies will facilitate the implementation of several future measures”, concluded the researcher.
The Diversity and Inclusion Commission
The D&I Commission was established by the INESC TEC Board of Directors in September 2021, after the presentation of the Report of the Working Group on Gender Equality + Diversity and Inclusion, which took place on July 15, 2021. The main mission of the D&I Commission is to propose and implement a D&I programme, with gender equality as a priority.
The Commission is coordinated by Beatriz Oliveira and currently composed of Ana Lopes, Tiago Silva and Tiago Gonçalves – with Nuno Moniz and Sheila Góis Habib as previous members over the past year.
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