The sustainability of the results in VII EU framework programme projects on gender equality and the network of the Italian partners,

Silvana Badaloni and Lorenza Perini (University of Padua, Italy) examined the results of the VII EU framework programme “sister projects” on gender equality, as developed by the network of Italian partner universities and research institutions. They showed that the projects succeeded in raising awareness about gender equality in Italian academia, and at encouraging cooperation between Italian universities in this field. They also encountered several obstacles, including the low sensibility for monitoring and evaluating culture. The lack of reliable data production made it impossible to adopt measures in certain fields (such as work-life balance), and showed the persistence of certain forms of vertical and horizontal segregation. The sustainability of the projects results thus heavily depends on new tools of data collection – from a gender perspective and harmonized across surveys for comparative purposes – and monitoring created within projects. The speakers recommended the creation of permanent bodies dedicated to data gathering, analysis and monitoring in each university. They also emphasized that it was crucial to anticipate the sustainability of electronic tools. Finally, they advocated for continual coordinated efforts to lobby national institutions in favour of gender budgeting, and gender equality measures in academia.