On March 28, 2023, the Gender Equality & Sexual Diversity Committee (GESDC) organised a Mutual Learning Workshop at the Junior College in Malta to discuss Gender Equality Plans (GEP) being implemented in higher education and research organisations across the country. The workshop was launched by Hon. Ms Rebecca Buttigieg, the Parliamentary Secretary for Reforms and Equality, who welcomed the opportunity for different entities to share best practices and learn from each other's experiences.
Nine entities – University of Malta, Malta Council for Science & Technology, American University of Malta, Malta College of Arts, Science & Technology, Gozo Regional Development Authority, Human Right Directorate, National Commission for the Promotion of Equality, Queen Mary University of London (Barts & the London School of Medicine and Dentistry Anatomy) and the Ministry for Education, Sport, Youth, Research & Innovation -shared their ideas, concerns, difficulties and challenges in designing and implementing their GEP. The main objectives of the Gender Equality Programme in Academia - Raising Diversity (GEPARD), an Erasmus+ project aimed at helping entities and higher education institutions to design their own GEP, were also illustrated by GESDC.
The participants successfully achieved the objective of sharing experiences and learning from each other. They decided to use the workshop as a form of network to continue supporting each other, and agreed that similar meetings should continue to be held in the future. As those present pointed out, Maltese entities now need help to implement these gender equality plans, in the form of human resources and/or software programmes. At the same time, it was agreed that a Maltese entity should oversee this process.
Gender equality and diversity are crucially important in higher education and research organisations, and events like the Mutual Learning Workshop provide an important opportunity to share procedures and practices that have been effective in implementing GEPs.
For more information on GEPARD, please visit the webpage.
