Gender Equality in Academia and Research
Greece
PROMOTING GENDER EQUALITY IN RESEARCH
Legal framework
The Law 2839/2000 requires a one third gender representation in all decision making public bodies, including universities and research institutions. More specifically, the law requires the representation of at least one third of each sex in all decision making bodies, including those in Higher education.
The Law 3653/2008 addresses gender imbalances in the decision-making process for the research sector with regard to the recruitment procedures within National Bodies, Research and Technology Committees, provided that the candidates have the same qualifications.
Policy framework
The General Secretariat for Research and Technology (GSRT) Programme entitled “Diversity, inequalities and social inclusion” addressed the area of “Research within Priority Sectors”. This programme was promoted by the European Economic Area (EEA) Financial Mechanism 2009-2014. Its objective was to enhance research-based knowledge development in Greece. Specifically, the Programme supported Research and Development (R&D) projects that addressed, among others, gender mainstreaming and the promotion of work-life balance. The Programme was fully aligned with national R&D priorities. The Call of the Programme was announced in December 2014 but the projects were only approved and initiated in August 2015.
Other stimulatory initiatives
Until October 2015, no other stimulatory initiatives had been put in place to promote gender equality in research in Greece.
Key actors
The General Secretariat for Gender Equality (GSGE) is the competent governmental authority for designing, implementing and monitoring the policies for gender equality in all areas, including research.
The Research Centre for Gender Equality (KETHI) is a Legal Entity under Private Law of the Ministry of Interior. KETHI’s activities have a dual focus: to conduct social research on gender equality issues and to improve women’s status and enable their advancement in all areas of political, economic and social life, within the framework of the policies defined by the General Secretariat for Equality.
The General Secretariat for Research and Technology (GSRT) of the Ministry of Education is responsible for all Greek Public Research Institutions that work in a wide range of scientific areas.
The Laboratory for Gender Research of the National Centre for Social Research is a basic unit of the Institute of Social Research within this national centre. It aims at conducting research in the field of gender relations and gender policies. It collaborates with all the relevant stakeholders for gender equality issues.
The Greek Association of University Women (EL.E.GY.P.) is a non-profit, scientific organisation that was founded in 2008 with the aim to improve the position and status of women in academic institutions of Greece and to promote their scientific work and social contribution. Its members consist of female academics from Greek universities. The ELEGYP holds every year a series of events about women in academia. Between 2013 and 2015, ELEGYP implemented an action programme for the "Promotion of a gender perspective and combating gender discrimination in universities" co-financed by the Ministry of Interior. Within the framework of this action programme, many events took place in cooperation and co-organisation with other Greek universities in order to promote the integration of a gender perspective in Greek universities.
INITIATIVES FOR GENDER EQUALITY BY RESEARCH PERFORMING ORGANISATIONS
The University of Ioannina was part of a consortium of an EU-funded structural change project: DIVERSITY (2009-2012).
The Office for Gender Equality and Equal Opportunities of the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens used to draft annual reports and conduct a thorough analysis about the teaching and administrative staff, as well as the students of the academic institution. The analysis also took into consideration the gender representation in decision-making positions. The last report available refers to the academic year of 2011/2012.
The Aegean University established a committee "AEGEAN 50:50 Balanced Participation" in 2014 in order to progress gender equality and equal opportunities in the university. The committee is responsible for submitting an integrated Institutional Action Plan for Equality to the academic administration of the University. The drafting process of the gender equality plan will most likely be finalised until February/March 2016.
Similarly, the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki has also created a Committee for Gender Equality in 2015[1]. The main objective of the committee is to promote and integrate gender equality in the academic institution and to develop activities and initiatives in the field.
In 2015, the Panteion University (Departments of Public Administration, International, European and Regional Studies, Communication, Media and Culture, Sociology and Social Anthropology) established an Interdepartmental Gender MA Programme entitled "Gender, Society, Policy".
RELEVANT EXAMPLES OF PRACTICES
Committee for Gender Equality and Equal Opportunities
The Committee for Gender Equality and Equal Opportunities of the Aegean University (AEGEAN 50:50 Balanced Participation) is the first of its kind in a Greek Academic Institution. The dean of the university took the initiative of creating it in order to integrate gender equality into Aegean University. For the first time, an official document regarding the committee’s work has been created. It mentions that an integrated Institutional Action Plan for Equality needs to be submitted to the academic administration of the University. The drafting process of this plan will be finalised by February/March 2015.
Gender Equality Office
The Gender Equality Office of the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens was created in 2012. The office is in charge of gathering gender statistical data on scientific and administrative staff and students of the University of Athens, writing Annual Reports reflecting on the statistics collected, and reporting on the progress towards gender equality (including the universities’ policies and practices). The website of the Office is systematically updated in order to inform the university community about the activities of the Office, as well as relevant scientific activity of other universities and research organisations. The office’s website constitutes a channel of communication between faculty members and students on issues related to gender equality in higher education and provides self-learning tools for gender studies and issues from a gender perspective. The office is facing problems due to the lack of budget and staff.