2.4 Gender Equality: Taking Action ULiège is committed to following the Sustainable Development Goals defined by the UN. Florence Caeymaex, the Rector’s Adviser on Ethics and Equality Policies, points out that «development that is to the detriment of women and other gender minorities in the broad sense is not sustainable development.» So, together with all those who wanted to get involved in these issues, she suggested that the University Board set up a ‘participatory’ body. As such, the Gender and Equality Council was created in October 2022. In May 2023, the Council published a very concrete Action Plan, a series of proposals made to the Institution with the aim of making ULiège more egalitarian. It is based on a number of observations, the first of which is that gender equality is, above all, a question of justice and that its absence has an impact on the production of knowledge. «Scientists work on the basis of models that highlight certain aspects of reality and neglect others. They may therefore contain biases, i.e., unconscious choices linked to the researchers’ specific social experiences. For example, the fact of being a man means that some aspects of reality are taken into account and not others, which may be important from the point of view of a woman or a person of a particular race, creating an imbalance. So it’s very important to be aware of the limits of these models, and gender diversity is crucial to doing this.» This position of the Gender and Equality Council therefore recommends, first and foremost, that statistics be gathered on these issues. «Figures are important because they allow us to objectify a reality. For example, despite a slightly higher number of girls entering university, men are over-represented as you move up the career ladder, especially at the highest academic level. The figures therefore show that there are many obstacles to the presence of women in these careers.» A BALANCED LIFE Although society is undergoing changes in this area, «family responsibilities are still mainly the responsibility of women.» The Action Plan therefore recommends a series of measures to ensure that maternity is no longer detrimental to their careers, such as automatically extending research contracts in the event of pregnancy, installing more breastfeeding facilities, and running information campaigns aimed at department heads on the rights and risks associated with maternity. «This also involves organisational measures, such as avoiding late afternoon meetings so as not to penalise women who are still managing the family organisation.» We’re also looking at the possibility of teleworking, as well as the creation of a crèche. «There are several avenues to explore on this subject, in order to take into account the diversity of the ULiège community and the challenge represented by having different campuses.» Giving things a name makes them happen. By publishing the position of the Gender and Equality Council, the University of Liège is moving towards an explicit policy of gender equality in the broadest sense, including LGBTQIA+ people. Gender equality is a fundamental right. 14 | ACTIVITY REPORT SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT AT ULIÈGE | 2022 – 2023
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