Gender Equality

Gender equality is one of the fundamental human rights. Promoting gender equality and ensuring equal opportunities for women and men is one of the strategic goals of the Institute of Organic Chemistry PAS. Bearing in mind the particular need to promote equal professional development of women and men, the Institute took preparatory measures in November 2021 to implement the Gender Equality Plan.

By decision of the Director of the IOC PAS, with the beginning of 2022, the Gender Equality Plan for 2022-2027 was adopted at the Institute. The Plan is the result of internal analyses and consultations carried out by a working group established for this purpose. The adopted comprehensive strategy is based on five strategic objectives aimed at achieving the overarching goal of improving gender equality at the Institute.

• GOAL 1: Promoting gender equality and raising awareness about the importance of gender diversity among the employees of the IOC PAS
• GOAL 2: Improving the work environment to facilitate work-life balance
• GOAL 3: Supporting the advancement of women’s scientific careers
• GOAL 4: Ensuring gender equality in recruitment processes
• GOAL 5: Increasing representation of women in decision-making bodies,
  committees and scientific events

Reports on gender equality in research and innovation prepared by both Polish and European institutions clearly indicate that the development of scientific careers of women and men differs significantly. The most important reasons for women’s slower professional development include, above all, the unequal division of family and professional duties, the need to reconcile raising children with conducting research projects, lower self-assessment of scientific achievements among women and the desire to meet society’s expectations regarding the traditional role of women as mothers, partners and carers.

Poland ranks 18th in the EU on the Gender Equality Index 2024 with a score of 63.4, 7.6 points below the EU average. Despite no change in ranking, Poland’s score has increased by 1.5 points since 2021, largely due to improvements in the domains of power (+3.2 points) and money (+1.3 points).

According to She Figures 2024, Poland ranks 13th overall with a score of 72.4. It performs well in the Gender Dimension of Research and Innovation Capacity (8th) but faces challenges in reducing segregation in the research pipeline (21st). Poland has achieved gender balance among doctoral graduates, with women making up 56.3% of doctoral completions, ranking second in the EU.

Women’s representation in leadership positions on research institution boards is lower than the EU average. In 2022, women held 21% of board leader positions and 30% of board member positions. Career advancement for women researchers has improved, with women holding 28% of Grade A positions, though this remains below the EU average of 29%.

Poland has also seen a rise in the proportion of women authors in research publications (40% between 2018-2022) and patent applications (11%), outperforming the EU average in both areas. However, increasing women’s access to leadership roles and ensuring equal opportunities in science and engineering remain areas for improvement.