Gender Equality in Academia and Research
Elections for the University's Council (LT)
The EU-funded structural change INTEGER project has taken on a pioneering role at Siauliai University (SU) and in Lithuania as a whole. This project was fundamental to promote institutional transformation in a higher education institution. During the project’s implementation, the Council elections were planned to take place. Considering the striking underrepresentation of women in the university’s Council, the SU Council Election Tactics and Strategy Plan were developed within INTEGER in order to encourage a gender-balanced representation of the Council. Several activities were undertaken in order to empower female candidates to run in the university’s Council elections, such as: communication with the highest management staff at SU through formal meetings; consultation with the university lawyer about the possible ways of making women’s representation in the Council’s election; participation in the preparation of the election regulations; search for women candidates from SU representatives according to criteria such as loyalty to the university and commitment to implement gender equality at the university. As a result of these initiatives, the number of women to the Council significantly increased from 0 % in 2011 to 36.3 % in 2014.
FURTHER INFORMATION
- Video: How to increase women’s representation in the 2014 SU’s Council elections?
- EU-funded INTEGER project
- INTEGER’s Online Guidelines
- Presentation by Virginijia Sidlauskiene at Learning and Dissemination Seminar on Promoting Gender Equality in Research and Higher Education Institutions (9 September 2016)
- Full description on EIGE's compendium of good practices
- Contact details: Virginija Sidlauskiene (svirginija@cr.su.lt)