Instruct-ERIC received the Newcomer Gender Equality Champion award

On March 3, Instruct-ERIC received the Newcomer Gender Equality Champion award, becoming the first ERIC to earn this distinction. The organization was awarded a €100,000 prize during a ceremony hosted by Marc Tachelet, Director at the European Research Executive Agency. Commissioner Ekaterina Zaharieva personally presented the award to Instruct representatives, alongside other academic and research organizations being recognized.
 
John Dolan, Communication and Project Manager at Instruct-ERIC, has answered a few questions about this important award and the work that led to this recognition.
 
Instruct has developed its Gender Equality and Diversity Plan over several years. How has this work evolved over time?
 
The Instruct GEDP was borne out of necessity to align with Horizon Europe, it began as a process of documenting and measuring the work that Instruct has done over many years to advance gender equality both within the coordinating Hub, its centres and the wider structural biology community. The plan has been developed and actioned by Instruct’s Gender Equality Working Group, chaired by Project Manager Regina Guenster. By ensuring a commitment and enthusiasm for gender equality within the team, this has a multiplying effect across the facilities. In the most recent update to the plan, Instruct experienced first-hand the impact of improved working arrangements including flexible working, and parental policies on staff lives, especially for those with caring responsibilities. Instruct is also very proud of the positive and supportive workplace culture, backed up by responses to the employee survey, where 100% of staff believe Instruct to be committed to gender equality and believe that the policies and actions in place support gender equality in the organisational culture.

 
What aspect of your GEDP are you most proud of?
 
In the broader life science research community, Instruct is proud of the measures implemented at all career stages to support researchers of all genders. Particularly, the Instruct internship scheme which is aimed at researchers in the earliest stage of their career, PhD students and early Postdoctoral researchers, shows a great need for training and international mobility support. Internships have strong uptake with 56% of applications coming from women, and 64% of awards being made to women. Instruct hopes that schemes like these can act as inspiration and will be replicated by other organisations as there is a demonstrated need from the community.
 
How do you plan to continue work on the GEDP?
 
Instruct hopes to continue to monitor its gender equality efforts within its coordinating Hub, but to also expand to other centres and the wider structural biology community. All research organisations have a gender equality plan and process in place, the next step for Instruct will be to gain an understanding of how gender equality is being promoted in its facilities, to make even greater strides in progressing equality throughout science. By coordinating with other ERICs, Instruct hopes to strengthen gender equality and diversity within the research infrastructure community, and expand the widening effect that ERICs have to further scientific communities.
 
What advice would you give to other ERICs?
 
Having an effective gender equality and diversity plan within the coordinating Hub is the first step towards advancing gender equality throughout the ERIC and its centres and nodes. For those ERICs that have this in place, Instruct strongly recommends that they apply to the Horizon Europe Gender Equality Prize. This is an opportunity to receive feedback and validation on the efforts made within the ERIC organisation, and to join the ever-growing “Champions League” of prize winners, who can collaborate together on ways to advance gender equality into the future.
 
Click here to read Instruct-ERIC’s news on the award!