"Donner des Elles à l'UM": a month of March dedicated to gender equality at the University of Montpellier

International Women's Rights Day doesn't last a day, but a month at the University of Montpellier. From March¹ to 31, 2024, and for its ^8th edition, "Donner des Elles à l'UM" (Giving Women a voice at the UM) proposes to work together to advance gender equality through a rich program of actions. It's a privileged moment at the confluence of reflections, questioning and actions on equality between women and men, which must take precedence throughout the year.

March diary "Donner des Elles à l'UM" (Giving Elles to the UM)

Like every year, March marks the return of actions focusing on gender equality at the UM. We'll be talking about women who are daring and enduring, invisibilized and abused. We'll be talking about their vision of the world and their success, about what moves them or hinders them. There will be humor and gravity, emotion and reflection. Always in the same spirit of openness, alternating relaxation, seriousness and gravity.

This year's program includes a variety of activities to suit all tastes: a self-defense workshop reserved for female UM students, a selection of short films, a screening of Stephen Frears' The Lost King, participatory theater, puppet theater, a photo exhibition, a guided tour of the Fabre Museum, a round table on the concept of "success" and a selection of documents at the BU. Elles" will be deployed at most of the University of Montpellier sites, as well as via videoconferencing.

Spearheading this 2024 edition, a round-table discussion will be held on the theme of "what is success?", a question put to UM students, with varied, inspiring and sometimes surprising answers that invite us to question our own visions of success and explore the issues involved: how do we define it? Also worth seeing is the show "Rêveries", a shared theatrical creation on the history of feminism through language, produced and performed by UM students and staff.

The full program can be found here.

The University of Montpellier committed to gender equality

Gender equality is a long-standing commitment at the University of Montpellier. The University of Montpellier 's new gender equality plan was voted unanimously by the Board of Directors on March 13, 2023, providing for the deployment of thirty new actions after the forty already carried out in the previous plan.

One of the flagship actions of this plan will be participation in the Acadiscri survey conducted by a group of researchers in several French universities. The survey will cover not just gender equality, but all 25 discrimination criteria defined by law: gender, age, actual or assumed sexual orientation, physical appearance, etc. The aim is to obtain quantified indicators to take stock of the situation. Other actions will be carried out, such as the creation of a brochure on gender diversity to show that women enrolling in fields considered to be "masculine" are successful, training for the university community on the issue of gender stereotypes, awareness-raising actions to continue to promote equal access for men and women to positions of responsibility, and actions to combat discrimination and acts of sexual and sexist violence.

Equality is a central theme in today's society, and the University is a reflection of society. This is where tomorrow's generations are trained. For women to break through glass ceilings, it is important to create new role models for female and male students at the University of Montpellier.

The gender equality plan: here.