The University of Genoa (UniGe) is a public institution with scientific, educational, organisational and financial autonomy, in which all components of the academic community participate in the construction of a European space for research and advanced professional training.

What does UniGe look like?

UniGe is organised into 22 departments grouped within 5 schools, 14 inter-university research centres, 1 centre of excellence, 5 libraries. Its educational offerings consist of 137 degree courses (bachelor and master's), 28 doctoral courses divided into more than 90 curricula, 44 postgraduate schools, 27 master's degree courses of I and II level. It has established two strategic centres: the Sea Centre (from 2019) and the Security, Risk and Vulnerability Centre (from 2020).

Why a Gender Equality Plan?

UniGe has taken on board the request of the European Commission's Research and Innovation Directorate for all public institutions to have a Gender Equality Plan (GEP) in order to access research funding under the Horizon Europe Framework Programme.
In synergy with the indications of the European Commission, the National Recovery and Resilience Plan also tackles gender inequalities in a transversal manner, placing three transversal priorities alongside the three strategic axes shared at European level (digitalisation and innovation, ecological transition and social inclusion), among which is precisely that of promoting gender equality, as well as that of reducing generational inequalities and that of favouring the rebalancing of territorial gaps. These are priorities that are not entrusted to single, circumscribed interventions, but pursued directly or indirectly in all six of the Plan's missions.

The University of Genoa has given the adoption of the GEP a significance that goes beyond the mere fulfilment of the formal obligation, understanding the process that led to the formulation of the document as an opportunity to identify moments of confrontation and sharing on the specific issue.

The GEP of the University of Genoa

The structure of the UniGe GEP faithfully reproduces the process requirements (formality, public evidence, dedicated resources, data collection and monitoring, awareness raising, etc.) and content requirements detailed in the General Annexes to the Horizon Europe Work Programme.
It is a public document, approved and signed by the Magnificent Rector and published on the University website. The document was shared in all institutional circles during its creation and at the time of publication. The PDF is in accessible format.

GEP UniGe

The section detailing the process requirements consists of four chapters, which address the essential elements for the construction of the GEP (building blocks):

1. the first chapter, dedicated to formal aspects and public evidence, outlines how information about the GEP will be disseminated from its official presentation;
2. the second chapter, dedicated to resources, details the working groups that have set up the GEP and the resources (human and financial) that will be dedicated to implementing and monitoring the actions. Moreover, it defines the terms in which the time devoted to the realisation and implementation of the GEP is recognised;
3. the third chapter, on data collection and monitoring, presents the data on staff disaggregated by gender and formalises the realisation of annual reports for the evaluation of progress and results that will make the GEP a dynamic document, reflecting the continuous evolution of the University of Genoa and the people who work and study in it;
4. the last chapter of the section illustrates the considerations underlying the training and skills-building activities through staff and decision-maker training, and in particular the training aimed at staff in leadership and decision-making positions on overcoming gender bias. These activities will then be detailed in the second section.

The second section of the GEP, on content requirements, is divided into six chapters, which describe the actions planned for the five areas of intervention required by the Commission, as well as a preparatory area to the others, aimed at the necessary creation and adoption of the technological and linguistic prerequisites necessary for an effective implementation of the actions envisaged by the GEP.

Objectives and actions are SMART, i.e. Specific, Measurable, Implementable, Realistic and Time-bound.

UniGe has for years been committed to progress towards gender equality, respect for diversity and inclusion. UniGe has two statutory bodies for the protection of gender equality and the fight against discrimination: the CUG (Comitato Unico di Garanzia), established pursuant to Law 183/2010 and envisaged by Article 28 of the University Statute, and the CPO (Comitato per le Pari Opportunità), envisaged by Article 27 of the Statute. The CUG and CPO collaborated in the drafting of the GEP through the data at their disposal and the actions they organise, in particular the P Positive Action Plan 2021-2023 and the 2019 and 2020 Gender Balance Sheet (BdG).

Other information and planning resources are derived from services, conventions and institutional figures with specific tasks already in place:

• Equal Opportunity and Inclusion Delegate, from 2021;
• Trusted Adviser: since 2017, with three-year appointments. This is a professional figure outside the University with specific skills, to whom any member of the university community can turn to obtain advice and assistance in cases of harassment and/or mobbing;
• UniGe adopted on 19.06.2018 the Code of conduct for the prevention of all forms of discrimination, harassment, mobbing in the workplace and study and on 18.08.2017 the Regolamento in materia di telelavoro per il personale tecnico amministrativo;
• the Whistleblowing procedure and mechanisms for the protection of the authors of reports of offences or irregularities (so-called "whistleblowing"). Whistleblowing) has been in force since March 2021;
• with regard to the reconciliation of paid work and care work, UniGe has stipulated subsidised agreements with nursery schools, crèches and summer centres since 2008; agreements with care facilities for non-self-sufficient individuals for all members of the University since 2015; and the granting of a financial contribution to TABS staff with non-self-sufficient family members in a situation of seriousness, pursuant to Law no. 104/1992, as of 2018; provision of grants to TABS staff for the use of summer and weekday centres, and the establishment of a fund to support parenting for specific categories of non-structured teaching staff (research grant holders, but also PhD students and postgraduate students);
• UniGe activated in 2015 the dual university passbook, which allows the student component in gender transition, upon simple request, to obtain the issuance of a temporary bureaucratic profile ("career alias") together with a new badge bearing the name of election (corresponding to one's gender identity) instead of one's registry name;
• the actions are also linked to the Sustainable Development Goals of the UN 2030 Agenda, in particular Goals 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 inequalities; 11: Make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable; 17: Partnership for the Goals and with the UniGe Sustainability Report

For further information you can write to rettore@unige.it.