The role of women in research at the Institut Pasteur: "Women and Science" project and other Institut Pasteur initiatives

International Women's Day on March 8 is an opportunity to reiterate the importance of gender equality as a strategic challenge for the Institut Pasteur. The newsletter has compiled a round-up of the main measures and initiatives (in French) in this area.

 

Women and Science, a priority of the 2019-2023 Strategic Plan

 

The Women and Science project, a key part of the Strategic Plan, was set up to encourage the representation of female scientists at the Institut Pasteur and increase the number of women in positions of scientific responsibility.

•    As part of this initiative, launched in September 2019, a multidisciplinary working group led by Caroline Demangel and Odile Hermabessière drew up a series of recommendations to address selection bias, help employees achieve a balance between their personal and professional life, and promote the Institut Pasteur's commitments in its equity, diversity and inclusion policy.

•    The first eleven measures are based around the following three broad areas:
- Encouraging more female applications for scientific positions
- Increasing women's success rate in recruitment and promotion procedures
- Supporting career development by facilitating working life and improving the visibility of the Institut Pasteur's female scientists

Consult the recommendations on the project Webcampus page

The efforts and commitment of the working group and the various teams in the departments led to several specific applications of these measures in 2020, despite the difficult context. The following are particularly worth noting:

 

-    The inclusion of incentive measures in job advertisements for five-year groups and five-year units to encourage the recruitment of more women in research teams;

 

-    The launch of the Pasteur Springboard initiative, a training program to support career development and women in leadership. Four groups of 15 female staff members have already benefited from this training, based on several educational methods over a four-month period. Clara, Nadia, Rachel, Marta, Gizel and Hanna are among those who took part in the first sessions.

Click here to read their feedback on the Pasteur Springboard Webcampus page      

 

-    From October 2020, the provision of a room on campus for breastfeeding mothers to express milk, aimed at staff members who wish to carry on breastfeeding when they return to work after maternity leave. The room has been booked more than 360 times since it was opened, facilitating the return to work for new mothers at the Institut Pasteur who are required to come to campus in person.

Find out more

A host of new measures will be introduced this year, including the launch of an extensive internal survey designed to help identify obstacles hindering women's career development at the Institut Pasteur. More detailed information will be sent out in the newsletter before the start of the survey.

 

 

Publication of the Professional Gender Equality Index

The Institut Pasteur has also recently published its Professional Gender Equality Index for 2020, as required by French law, obtaining a score of 93/100. The result demonstrates the Institut Pasteur's efforts in this area. But it is crucial to remain vigilant, especially when it comes to the promotion of women to positions of responsibility.

Find out more

 

"Women at Pasteur" initiative: a Teams group, online seminars and discussion threads

Finally, a number of female Institut Pasteur staff have taken the initiative since November of organizing several online events based on a "Women at Pasteur" Teams group. Activities include discussions, opportunities to share knowledge and informal chats on the topic of gender equality.

At the moment, the "Women at Pasteur" Teams group is mainly based around two channels:
•    Feminist Café, with monthly seminars (at 10am on the last Monday of every month).
The sessions are recorded and internal staff can watch them on the streaming channel.
•    Mums, a channel specifically focused on topics related to parenting.
 
"The aim of this online group is to share knowledge and experience on the issues of diversity, inclusion and gender equality in particular, both via the monthly seminars and also through the many online discussions," explain Hanna Julienne and Rachel Torchet. Both women work in the Bioinformatics and Biostatistics HUB and are behind this initiative, which has already seen more than 75 people sign up to the Teams group.

Practical information
The Teams group and the two channels are open to everyone, both men and women, scientific and support staff.

The seminars take place in French, but English-speakers are welcome to attend and speak in English. Why not join the team?

In Teams, in the "Files" section, you will find a list of upcoming topics, the calendar, suggested reading and a best practice guide.

Direct links to Teams:
Women at Pasteur team
Feminist Café
Mums