“Organisations cannot reach their full potential unless they can benefit from the talents of all,” says Sarah Dickinson-Hyams, Assistant Director, International Equality Charters, as Advance HE formally launches its new service to support institutions to develop their Gender Equality Plans (GEPs).
“Gender Equality Plans are integral to evidencing what a department, institution or organisation is doing to address gender, equality, diversity and inclusion. We often talk about people being our best asset and these plans are key to institutions unlocking their full array of talent through a structured and planned approach.”
Increasingly, GEPs are a requirement to access to funding, including under the Horizon scheme where they are mandatory. GEPs are formal documents signed by institutional leadership teams which demonstrate a commitment to gender equality, setting clear goals, detailed actions and measures to achieve them.
Sarah continues, “Our support – founded on 20 years of knowledge and expertise, tried and tested with some of the world’s leading higher education and research institutions – is designed to assist in developing a plan from self-assessment, through to identifying priorities and defining actions."
“75% of the inaugural EU Gender Equality Champion Awards went to institutions which have developed gender equality plans as part of their engagement in the Athena Swan Ireland Charter, which Advance HE runs and provides action plan workshops for.”Sarah Dickinson-Hyams, Assistant Director, International Equality Charters