International Women's Day on March 8 – commitments to gender equality and celebrating women

Gender equality at the Institut Pasteur

International Women's Day, celebrated every year on March 8, is an opportunity to reaffirm the Institut Pasteur's commitment to gender equality in the workplace. The newsletter has compiled a round-up of the main initiatives in this area.

 

Strengthening equality – a key target in the Strategic Plan

The Institut Pasteur Senior Management Board, with the support of the Board of Governors, identified gender equality as a priority of the Institut Pasteur Strategic Plan. Since 2019 many advances have already been accomplished, in particular through the "Women and Science" project and the dedication and drive of our Institut Pasteur teams.

 

The GEP – enshrining the Institut Pasteur's commitment

In January 2022, the publication of the Institut Pasteur's Gender Equality Plan (GEP) confirmed its commitment in this area and marked a key milestone in the Institut Pasteur's policy to promote equality, diversity and inclusion with 17 specific improvement measures to be implemented.

•    With the GEP, we are now extending our strategy to the entire Institut Pasteur community (research and support staff). In the coming weeks the taskforce established in 2019 will be joined by new members from support roles to reflect the full breadth and diversity of the Institut Pasteur.

•    The newsletter team will keep you updated of any measures that are adopted in this regard.

 

Publication of the Professional Gender Equality Index

In early March, as required by French law since 2019, the Institut Pasteur also published its Professional Gender Equality Index for 2021, obtaining a score of 93%. While this excellent result – on a par with the previous year – reflects the Institut Pasteur's collective action towards gender equality, continued vigilance and sustained efforts are required, particularly with regard to the careers of female staff.

 

Upcoming measures in 2022

A series of information and awareness-raising initiatives on gender equality and working more effectively together will be rolled out for all staff in June this year. Lectures, practical workshops and training sessions on various topics such as unconscious bias, parenthood and women in leadership will offer an opportunity to present the various dimensions of the Gender Equality Plan to the campus community. More details will be provided between now and June.

 

Pour en savoir plus
 

Download the key figures for 2021 on gender equality

See the Institut Pasteur's Gender Equality Plan

Find out more about the "Women and Science" project group launched in 2019

See the Webcampus page on the index
 

Celebrating women in the Pasteur Network

March 8 is also an opportunity to celebrate the women in the Pasteur Network. Since International Women's Year in 1975, the date of March 8 has been recognized as International Women's Day by the United Nations. To mark the occasion, check out the stories of five women in the Pasteur Network who agreed to share their background in the Pasteur Network reports. Their stories are a way of paying tribute to all the women in the Pasteur Network who strive daily to improve human health in the four regions where the network operates.

In light of the COVID-19 crisis, the United Nations has emphasized the importance of including women in the fight against the pandemic and also in post-pandemic reconstruction. Their efforts in tackling SARS-CoV-2 and in other research areas are detailed in the latest Pasteur Network report for 2019-2020, which includes several accounts from women in the network.

Find out more