Tilburg University Gender and Diversity

Gender Equality Plan 2022 - 2025

Tilburg University has been implementing gender policies for many years. In the beginning, this was mainly focused on increasing the representation of women in the (higher) academic ranks and supporting positions. As of 2018, in addition to gender equality, diversity and inclusion are explicitly included in the developed initiatives. Also, in the new strategic plan for the period 2022 - 2027, gender equality, diversity and inclusion have an important emphasis that is expressed, among others, in the core values Connected, Courageous, Curious & Caring.

Gender equality, diversity and inclusion are important both to the individual, the university community, the quality of education and research, and from a social perspective. Tilburg University is working on a culture in which gender equality, diversity and inclusion are self-evident and can be found in the composition of the staff, in the scientific discourse and the organizational culture. Through collaboration, through the diversity of teams, by nurturing education and research from multiple angles and perspectives, talents come into their own, we gain insight into our bias, we broaden themes, we enrich our knowledge, and we create diversity of thoughts and the international classroom.

The Gender Equality plan below provides an overview of previous developed gender and diversity policies within Tilburg University. This plan was prepared in the context of the European Commission making a Gender Equality Plan a condition of participation in Horizon Europe, the framework program for research and innovation, as of January 1, 2022. Academics are asked to pay attention to this in their research proposals towards Horizon Europe in order to qualify for a research grant. In case of any questions, please contact Team Grant Support (grants@tilburguniversity.edu).

Within the European Commission's Strategy for Gender Equality 2020 - 2025, the European Commission is committed to promoting gender equality in research and innovation. This is complementary to the established regulatory framework within the EU on gender equality, which applies within all sectors. However, within the research sector there are still many structural barriers to gender equality in research and innovation. As a result, from 2022, every legal entity (government agency, research or higher education institution) must have a gender equality plan in place to be eligible for Horizon Europe funding.

Tilburg University and its Executive Board support these strong actions as part of their own commitment to gender equality, diversity and inclusion within the academic community. In the Gender Equality Plan, we outline how we are meeting the required criteria and recommended actions.