The PLA3I has been defined within ICMAB's Gender Equality and Diversity Committee and was approved by the institute board last November 14th, 2024. It develops especific actions for ICMAB, within and beyond the general framework of CSIC’s III Equality Plan. It positions ICMAB among the Spanish research centers pioneering equality and inclusion in a broad sense.
Presented in February by Lourdes Fàbrega, ICMAB’s Vicedirector and Coordinator of the Gender Equality and Diversity Committee (you can check the presentation at ICMAB's intranet), the PLA3I now has been working for over half a year. It includes a comprehensive diagnosis and targeted actions to tackle key equality and diversity challenges at the centre.
The plan is the result of a major collective effort, led by Lourdes Fàbrega, to design a strategy that is both realistic and ambitious, grounded in a solid analysis ICMAB’s current situation.
"Equality has not yet been achieved in research, in any respect, and it will take a long time to achieve it", Lourdes Fàbrega states.
"It is necessary to work continously, and hardy, to achieve equal treatment of men and women, equal selection and evaluation, equality of opportunities and visibility... Even more, we have to keep on working on awareness, since many people, men and also women, do not think this relevant or do not pay attention to inequalities. The plans are an essential instrument for the effectivity of the actions and the progress towards equality, since they include a diagnose, definition of objectives, planning and evaluation."
If you are an ICMAB employee, you can watch the presentation of the PLA3I here and check the PLA3I (in Catalan for the moment) here.
Why the PLA3I?
ICMAB is a centre with a strong commitment to gender equality and inclusion, where awareness-raising actions have been carried out for years. There is a Committee (formerly called the Equality Committee, now the Gender Equality and Diversity Committee), whose members work voluntarily to improve gender balance in research teams, activities and leadership, and to integrate equality in research content and culture. Moreover, ICMAB has one of the lowest glass ceiling indexes within the CSIC.
Timeline of the CIGiD: from the creation of the Equality Committee to the approval of PLA3I.
After formalizing the CIGiD in September 2023, expanding its mission for gender equality to include diversity and minoritized groups, developing the PLA3I became the natural next step.
Understanding the State of Gender Equality and Inclusion at ICMAB
The first part of the PLA3I was a diagnosis of gender equality and inclusion at the ICMAB. In addition to gathering existing data, a survey was conducted across all staff, along with a series of interviews with employees from different job categories and age groups. The diagnosis of the plan has focused on aspects such as gender, origin, tasks and working conditions, staff mobility, organization of working time and work-life balance, occupational risks and health, prevention of sexual and gender-based harassment, gender dimension in scientific research, institutional governance and culture, representation, and communication.
You can read the executive summary of the diagnosis here.
Action Lines
Based on the diagnosis, the plan sets out 76 concrete measures across seven action areas:
- Institutional governance and culture with a gender perspective.
- Workplace equality.
- Work-life balance.
- Occupational health with a gender perspective, and the fight against gender-based harassment and microaggressions.
- Participation of women in research.
- Gender dimension in research.
- Inclusion of other diversities and fight against discrimination.
With these actions, which will be reviewed annually, the aim is to work coherently and transversally to ensure that the centre maintains a respectful environment, that everyone has good working conditions, and that systemic injustices are addressed. You can read more on the areas of action of the PLA3I here.
"We expect to slowly progress towards equality, in the areas in which a CSIC research center can act. And I think that these are more than those that could be thought of at first; they include personnel selection, senior talent attraction, mentoring of young researchers, and a more serious work on the incorporation of diversity in research projects, among others", Lourdes Fàbrega comments on the expectations of the plan.
"I would also be happy if more people at ICMAB, specially men, became aware of the need to work towards equality, as an essential element for a better society and excellent R&D."
The actions align with the III CSIC Equality Plan and take into the availability of staff within ICMAB. These objectives are translated into the 76 actions which include career development plans with gender perspective, mentoring young female researchers, ensure parity in committees and decision organs, conduct the Breaking Barriers Together series of events about equality and inclusion or develop and disseminate a prevention leaflet for gender and sexual harassment, amongst others. Regarding the last two actions, the BBT series is running and the leaflet is handed to everyone in the centre when then join ICMAB.
Want to Get Involved?
If you want to engage with the CIGiD actions, you can message to
