IRNAS

EQUALITY

The IRNAS Equality Working Group is set up in accordance with the equality policies implemented by the General State Administration and by the CSIC, and specifically in line with the latter’s Equality Plan, which states that ‘in those Institutes and Centres where this is considered necessary, equality committees may be formed, as a policy of good practice and on a voluntary basis, with the aim of promoting the equality policies set out in the CSIC Equality Plan in force at any given time’.

According to the guidelines for the constitution of the Equality Working Groups in the CSIC ICUs, this working group should be parity-based and incorporate members from all sectors of the centre’s staff, thus guaranteeing attention to the various situations of inequality that may arise. The Equality Working Group is not executive in nature, but will act as a channel to the IRNAS Board on issues related to this matter. Its actions must be in line with the CSIC Equality Plan.

The IRNAS Equality Working Group has been created with the aim of ensuring that our centre respects and promotes the policy of equal opportunities in all its activities without distinction of gender, race, ideology, age, affective-sexual orientation or religion.

Staff

Members of the IRNAS Equality Working Group:

Virginia Hernández Santana
Alfonso Pérez Martín
Beatriz Aranda Cano
Antonio Montero de Espinosa Marín
Raquel Muñoz Fernández

Contact:

For any question related to the activities of this Working Group you can contact us at igualdad(at)irnas.csic.es

Objectives

The objectives of the Equality Working Group are as follows:

To continue and update the specific website of the IRNAS equality committee, following the reconstitution of the Equality Committee.
To disseminate and promote awareness of the CSIC’s equality policies. To this end, the new 3rd CSIC Equality Plan will be publicised.
To publicise institutional activities and decisions on equality policies through the website and e-mail.
To serve as a channel for proposals or suggestions from IRNAS staff in this area. To this end, these proposals may be sent to any of the members of the committee and will be evaluated and, if appropriate, sent to the CSIC Equality Commission. The information derived in this respect will be published on the website.
Continue with the diagnosis of the situation regarding Equality at IRNAS, by means of a survey and its contextualisation. The results will be published on the website.
Provide information, through the website and e-mail of the Equality Committee (igualdad@irnas.csic.es), on training in equality and other related aspects.
Promote equality in the functional and organisational structures of IRNAS.
Support sex/gender equality in research and provide training in this respect, highlighting the advantages of promoting such equality (e.g., that the PI of projects is a woman).
Promote, through dissemination activities, the visibility of the role of women in research centres, especially in IRNAS, in order to raise the profile of women in science in general.
To serve as a channel, if necessary, to mediate in cases of inequality that may arise, following the equality plan established by the CSIC and IRNAS management.
The Committee will follow the plan established by the CSIC.

Gender perspectives in research

Including a gender perspective in research is a human rights issue, aimed at achieving the desired equality between women and men. It requires a number of actions aimed at increasing women’s participation in research, and their professional stabilisation, as well as the incorporation of the gender dimension in research. Many years of research have revealed that gender and sexual biases are harmful and costly to society. Gender innovations

add value to research and engineering, ensuring excellence and quality in outcomes and improving sustainability.
add value to society by making research more responsive to societal needs.
add value to business by developing new ideas, patents and technology.

Including the gender dimension in research implies that gender is considered as an analytical and explanatory variable. We must therefore implement a systematic and visible strategy to promote gender equality in science and research. This strategy includes four aspects: 1) increasing women’s participation in science and research, 2) research should address the needs of women as well as men, 3) there should be gender-specific research aimed at improving understanding of gender issues and 4) in basic research, appropriate samples of both male and female animal cells and tissues should be used to avoid biases in the results. Thus, investing in a gender-sensitive approach in research content contributes to higher quality and validity of research.

Finally, gender should be taken into consideration at all stages of the research cycle:

Thinking phase, generating gender-sensitive ideas for research proposals and gender-sensitive hypotheses.
Proposal phase, asking gender-sensitive questions, choosing a gender-sensitive methodology
Research phase, collecting gender-sensitive data, analysing data in a gender-sensitive manner

Dissemination phase, report data in a gender-sensitive way, use gender-neutral language.

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Diversity

It is undeniable that human populations are composed of very diverse people and, in a fair society, this diversity should permeate through all layers of social and working life. But this is not the case.

In the specific case of the scientific-technological field, the data are not very encouraging. The lack of diversity can be seen in the gap between men and women, which is especially noticeable in positions of power; but also in the fact that the majority of workers are white men (even in regions where they constitute a minority in the general population), in the low rates of people with functional diversity, or in the high percentage of LGTBIQ+ people who do not openly declare their identity in their work environment or who report discrimination or abuse of any kind.

Diversity is also related to the quality of scientific research. When science takes diversity into consideration, it is not only fairer and more inclusive, it is also better science. Scientific evidence indicates that more diverse groups are more innovative and creative, more diligent and able to anticipate different points of view and to solve complex problems. Moreover, of particular interest to the scientific field, it is observed that diversity enhances and favours innovation.

However, it is important to remember that the need to detect the lack of diversity and the harm it causes to the people affected is justified primarily by a commitment to respect Human Rights: the inclusion of all people, regardless of their realities (including sex, race, gender identity, sexual orientation, religious preference…) must be guaranteed not only for those in privileged positions, but for everyone, also in the workplace.

The scientific community is finally tackling this problem, supported by the visibility of diversity at a social level and the work of different non-profit associations in Spain and beyond. From the IRNAS Equality Working Group we want to show our commitment to the recognition and promotion of diversity in all its forms and join the collective effort for inclusion and effective equality of opportunities for all people.

Take a look at the additional material section to learn more about the topic and access resources to support you in diversity and inclusion issues.

If you have experienced problems related to the recognition, acceptance or expression of your identity for any reason or know someone who has, you can contact igualdad[AT]irnas.csic.es

Preventing harassment

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