Towards Gender Equity in Academia: Strategies and Tools for Universities

Despite increased awareness of the role of biases in academia, and a growing number of institutional initiatives to address inequality, transformative change remains slow and uneven across countries. Gender stereotypes significantly contribute to the leaky pipeline, negatively affecting women's recruitment, career progression, and wages. This study investigates the intersection of implicit biases among university staff and the strategies outlined in Gender Equality Plans (GEPs), shedding light on how these plans drive meaningful institutional change. Based on data collected from three research-performing organizations in Europe, the study integrates results from a gender-career Implicit Association Test (IAT) and a detailed survey including demographics, professional roles, work-life balance, social values, and leisure activities. To reduce sample selection bias, the survey's structure and the order of questions were fully randomized.