Ecraid adopts a Gender Equality Plan
At Ecraid, we strive to be a positive force for diversity and inclusion throughout our network and the wider infectious diseases field in Europe. The newly adopted Gender Equality Plan outlines our collective efforts to accomplish these goals.
The widespread under-representation and unequal capacity to exercise agency of women in many fields, including in science, are well-documented. The sustained debate has led to heightened awareness and legislative and policy changes throughout Europe and beyond. Yet measures to correct this unfortunate phenomenon are doomed to failure without a genuine commitment to change at all organisational levels.
At Ecraid, we aim to improve clinical research in infectious diseases in Europe and beyond. We are therefore purpose-driven, but also people-centred. To achieve the level of clinical research excellence we aspire to, we need talented people with a wide range of backgrounds, perspectives and experiences. It is therefore paramount for us to provide our employees and partners with a safe environment to be themselves and to contribute to the full of their abilities.
Gender Equality Plan
Ecraid's newly adopted Gender Equality Plan (GEP) outlines the current state of our collective efforts to accomplish these goals and highlights essential areas of focus going forward.
The plan follows the recommendations set forth in the Horizon Europe Guidance on Gender Equality Plans, including reviewing current practices and legislation, setting objectives and targets, and measuring the impact of the measures taken. Over the following years, we will commit to not only the contents of this plan, but also to continuously updating it and broadening our approaches towards genuine inclusion and diversity.
A positive start
One of the first steps we took towards drawing a meaningful strategy was to collect relevant data.
The GEP highlights a positive trend in the gender balance in Ecraid's leadership. One of the three roles in our Executive Board – that of Chief Scientific Officer – is occupied by a woman. Furthermore, 45% of Ecraid's Management Team is female. These numbers are notable because in scientific institutions around the world women are severely underrepresented at the upper levels of leadership.
Across the organisation, women make up 85% of our current workforce.
Left: Ecraid CSO Evelina Tacconelli.
Inspiring women
Our efforts go beyond numbers. We use various opportunities to promote gender equality and inspire women to pursue their interests in science.
For this year's International Day of Women and Girls in Science, we produced a special video message for the young women out there who dream of making the world a better, safer place for all of us. It features a diverse group of brilliant women based in countries all over Europe, whose passion for science is on full display in the inspiring video below.