At the initiative of the Vice-rectory for Research, Innovation and Internationalisation, and together with the pro-rectory for Social Responsibility and Support, Health and Well-being, a team of lecturers/researchers was formed, led by Prof. Alexandra Lopes (FLUP), with a view to develop the GIA.UP – Gender Impact Assessment UPorto project, during the last year. Professors Isabel Dias (FLUP) and Conceição Nogueira (FPCEUP) formed part of the team, as well as researcher Jorge Freitas (RUP).

The main aim of the GIA.UP project was to promote awareness of the current situation at the University of Porto regarding the opportunities and obstacles that its operations, as an organisation, present to promoting diversity and gender equality in academia and research.

“Gender discrimination is a dimension of discrimination that is not always easy to detect, often concealed in apparently neutral processes. The characteristics of academia have led to some persistent gender inequalities that need to be overcome. In fact, this continues to be at the top of the agenda for building an inclusive Social Europe, where everyone, women and men, have a fair opportunity to realise their potential. The first step is recognising the existence and extent of gender inequalities, to, then, be able to identify the areas of action and define targets. GIA.UP represents the first exercise carried out by UPorto to learn about itself, as an organisation, with regards to gender inequality, and is thus highly instrumental. But it is also an initiative that symbolically marks recognition of the subject’s importance for the institution’s strategic development.”, states the project coordinator, Prof. Alexandra Lopes.

The challenge of creating inclusive environments, which promote equal opportunity, is a challenge that the academic world has taken up throughout Europe.

Identifying with the European blueprint for the construction of an inclusive University that promotes equal opportunity, the University of Porto has risen to the challenge of looking within and mapping the organisational environment and the dominant dynamics in the sphere of career management, using gender as a frame of reference.

Inspired by the principles included in the European Strategy 2020-2025 for the promotion of gender equality in academia and research, in 2020, U.Porto launched the first assessment of the organisational practices and procedures in its organisational units, bearing in mind the identification of possible gender biases.

GIA.UP recognises that complying with applicable legislation which promotes equal opportunity and non-discrimination is not a guarantee that there will be real equality between women and men, per se. The project, therefore, sought to contribute to the systematisation of information that spotlights processes and dynamics which may indicate areas and practices that are discriminatory and foster gender inequality within U.Porto.

To achieve this, GIA.UP pursued the following goals:

1. Put together an up-to-date picture of the University of Porto in terms of gender equalities and inequalities;

2. Gauge workers’ perceptions, male and female, regarding gender issues;

3. Respond to international recommendations on gender equality in academia, specifically the ERA roadmaps (European Commission & Directorate-General for Research and Innovation, 2019) and apply the guiding principles of the GEAR tool (European Institute for Gender Equality, 2016);

4. Create a knowledge base that can inform the development of mechanisms that allow for the detection and elimination of gender inequalities at U.Porto.

The results and conclusions of the project’s actions can be consulted in the Final Report, available in Portuguese here.

You can find more information and the contact details of Prof. Alexandra Lopes on her personal page, here.