Fostering Institutional Transformation Towards Gender Equality, Diversity and Inclusion in Academia: Opportunities and Challenges

Abstract

The past years have witnessed renewed efforts in facilitating gender equity, diversity and inclusion in academia, manifested in a range of new policies and initiatives at the EU, the national, and the university level. Many of these new policies and measures are charactericzed by the emergence of new topics, such as gender-based violence and sexual harassment, and the demand to broaden the focus to intersectionality and various forms of inequality beyond gender. This panel explores the opportunities and challenges of this development and points out current gaps, limitations, and unexplored potentials in current policies and initiatives. Rooted in feminist institutionalism, several papers analyze the prevalence, determinants, and consequences of discrimination and gender-based violence among minoritized groups, and point out how institutional cultures and formalized regulations shape the experiences of harassment and discrimination of researchers. Papers emphasize the gaps in existing policies and their implications for diverse groups, advocating for more inclusive and intersectional approaches within Gender Equality Plans. Beyond examining challenges, the panel identifies opportunities for structural change, highlighting the transformative power of resistance and collective agency. Furthermore, papers examine the potential and limits of EU-level policies in fostering institutional transformation, critically engaging, on the one hand, with the lack of coherence and collaboration between national and EU-level policies, and on the other hand, with the dominance of economic and neoliberal frames that are used to justify equality initiatives. They underscore the necessity of reimagining equality beyond purely economic terms and underline the influence of contextual narratives, socio-political challenges, and identity discourses in shaping policy directions. Ultimately, the panel serves as a platform for a nuanced exploration of policies and politics of gender equality in academia, shedding light on potential pathways for change amid persisting obstacles, while acknowledging the broader societal and institutional contexts influencing these endeavours.

Title	Details
Minoritized groups and sexual harassment policies in academia – a feminist institutionalist re-reading of findings of a large-scale survey study	View Paper Details
The challenge of intersectionality for gender equality plans: adding a gender+ dimension to research and teaching	View Paper Details
Tensions, Challenges, and Opportunities: Internal Networks Supporting Gender Equality Policy Processes and Structural Change in Universities	View Paper Details
Economic and Neoliberal Frames of Gender Equality and Diversity in Science: A Comparision between the EU and the US	View Paper Details
Using the leverage effect: interlinking gender equality policies at the national and European level	View Paper Details