The University of Genoa (UniGe) is a public institution with scientific, educational, organisational and financial autonomy, and, where all Academia is involved in enabling advanced research and professional training at European level.

How is UniGe structured?

UniGe is organized in 22 departments grouped within 5 schools, 14 inter-university research centers, 1 center of excellence, 5 libraries. Its educational offer is composed of 137 degree courses (among undergraduate and post graduate), 28 doctoral courses featuring more than 90 curricula, 44 specialization schools, 27 university master's degrees of I and II level. It has established two strategic centers: Centro del Mare (Center of the Sea – from 2019) and Centro sicurezza, rischio e vulnerabilità (Center for Security, Risk and Vulnerability – from 2020).

UniGe is composed of 22 Departments grouped under five Schools, fourteen interuniversity research centres and a centre of excellence. UniGe offers 137 among Undergraduate and Post-graduate courses, 28 Doctoral Courses featuring 90 curricula, 44 Specialisation Areas, 27 level 1 and 2 Master’s Degree Courses, 5 libraries. UniGe has also recently created two strategic centres: the Centro del Mare and the Centro sicurezza, rischio e vulnerabilità.

Why a Gender Equality Plan?

UniGe is embracing the request made to all public institutions by the European Commission’s Directorate General for Research and Innovation to implement a Gender Equality Plan (GEP) to gain access to the Horizon Europe funding programme. Working in synergy with the European Commission’s provisions, also the National Recovery and Resilience Plan is tackling gender inequality across the board by combining 3 key strategic lines shared at European level - innovation and digitalisation, ecological transition and social inclusion - with three transversal priorities, among which, fostering gender equality, reducing generational disparities and rebalancing regional divergence.
Such priorities are not merely confined to individual interventions, but are pursued, either directly or indirectly, across the university’s strategic plan missions.
The University of Genoa considers the GEP more than meeting an obligation but sees the implementation of the Plan as an opportunity to open up discussion and share experiences about the issue of gender equality.

The UniGe Gender Equality Plan

The UniGe GEP structure meets the process-related requirements of formality, public evidence, dedicated resources, data collection and monitoring, awareness-raising, etc., and the content requirements detailed in the Horizon Europe Programme’s General Annexes.
It is a public document, which has been approved by the Magnifico Rettore and published on the UniGe website. Shared among the various institutions both while being drawn up and at the time of its publication, it is a PDF document in accessible format.

UniGe GEP – Gender Equality Plan

The section outlining the process-related requirements is composed of four chapters, which meet the essential GEP requirements (building blocks):

1. the first chapter, which is devoted to formal and public documents, illustrates the ways in which information about the GEP will be disseminated and how they will be implemented starting from the programme’s official presentation;
2. the second chapter deals with resources and provides detailed information about the teams which have developed GEP and the resources (both human and financial) which will be allocated to the implementation and monitoring of actions. Moreover, this chapter also defines the timeframe within which the GEP will be realized and implemented;
3. the third chapter, referring to data collection and monitoring, presents gender-disaggregated data and formalises the realisation of annual reports aimed at assessing progress and results, which makes the GEP a dynamic document reflecting the continuous evolution of the University of Genoa and its staff and students;
4. the last chapter deals with training and capacity building of staff and decision-makers, with particular emphasis on training decision-makers and people in leadership positions in overcoming gender prejudice. Such activities are then detailed in the second section.

The second section is divided into six chapters describing a series of planned actions to be taken in the five intervention areas provided for by the Commission. There is also an area, which is preparatory to the others, devoted to creating and adopting the technological and linguistic means needed for an effective implementation of the actions required by GEP. Actions and objectives are SMART; that is Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant and Time-bound.

For a long time now, UniGe has been fostering gender equality, inclusion and respect of diversity. UniGe has two statutory bodies devoted to protecting gender equality and contrasting discrimination: the CUG (Comitato Unico di Garanzia), which was established pursuant to law number 183/2010 and provided for in article 28 of the University Statute, and the CPO (Comitato per le Pari Opportunità), established in accordance with article 27 of the University Statute. The CUG and the CPO have collaborated to draw up the GEP using existing available data and the actions they plan to take, in particular, the Piano di Azioni Positive 2021-2023 and the Bilancio di Genere (BdG) 2019 and 2020.

Information about the programme is also provided via services, agreements and institutional bodies with specific pre-existing tasks:

• Delegato/alle Pari Opportunità e Inclusione (Delegate for equal opportunities and inclusion), since 2021.
• Consigliere/a di fiducia (Harassment advisor): since 2017, with a three-year mandate. A professional practitioner from outside the university trained to offer specific support to anyone in the academic community who is seeking assistance in matters of harassment and/or mobbing.
• UniGe adopted, on 19th June 2018, the code of conduct for the prevention of any form of discrimination, harassment, mobbing in the workplace, and, on 18th August 2017, Regulations in matters of Teleworking for all administrative staff.
• The procedure aiming at protecting whistleblowers has been in force since March 2021.
• Regarding work-life balance, UniGe has made subsidized agreements with infant schools, kindergartens, summer centres since 2008. Since 2015, agreements have been in place with institutions to support members of staff taking care of individuals who are not self-sufficient. Pursuant to law number 104/1992, since 2018, staff with family members whose serious health conditions require them to undergo constant care have been able to apply for benefits. All admin staff are offered subsidised access to summer camps and holiday clubs; a parents’ fund has also been set up for specific categories of non-tenured teaching staff (research scholarship holders, but also PhD students and specialising students).
• In 2015, UniGe activated a double student university ID allowing gender-transitioning students, upon their request, to obtain a temporary bureaucratic profile (“carriera alias”) together with a new student university ID bearing the student’s name of choice (corresponding to the student’s own gender identity) in place of their birth name.
  These actions are also in compliance with the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development Goals, in particular with objectives: 3 - Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages; 4 - Quality Education; 5 - Gender Equality; 8 - Decent work and economic growth; 10: Resources and inequality; 11 - Make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable; 17 - Partnerships for the goals along with the UniGe Sustainability Balance Sheet.

For further information please contact rettore@unige.it