For a greater culture of equality between women and men
Guaranteeing equal access for women and men to all jobs, preventing potential wage differences, promoting work-life balance, and combating sexual and gender-based violence. These are the objectives of the UM's two-year plan for gender equality, which was approved by the board of directors on December 14.
The University of Montpellier did not wait for the civil service reform law of August 6, 2019, which made this plan mandatory, to take action in favor of greater equality between women and men. However, "this new legislative framework is an opportunity to formalize our actions by structuring them into a plan that we wanted to be biennial," says Agnès Fichard-Carroll, Vice President for Social Responsibility.
To develop this action plan, the Vice President, who worked with the Campus Life Department (DVC), Human Resources Department (DRH), and Steering Committee (DPIL), sought to involve as many people as possible in the consultation process. Due to the health crisis, a round table discussion, open to all UM staff, took place on November 2, but via videoconference. "The plan was then presented to the CHSCT (Health, Safety and Working Conditions Committee) on January 1December December, then the opinion of the Technical Committee was sought, before being voted on by the Board of Directors on December 14," adds Agnès Fichard Carroll.
A continuous improvement approach
What can we say today about gender equality figures at UM? First of all, of the 4,833 staff members, 50.07% are women and 49.93% are men. Equality seems to be the order of the day. However, the proportion of women falls to 39% among teachers and research professors, and among BIATS (technical and administrative staff), women represent more than 60% of the workforce but are under-represented in categories A and over-represented in categories C. This observation is not specific to UM but is identical in universities with similar scopes.
To track these figures, a gender parity report will be produced and published in brochure form each year so that everyone can see how things are progressing. A survey on " inequalities in treatment, study conditions, and working conditions in higher education and research" will also be conducted as part of a research project. At the same time, actions will be developed to obtain the Alliance label certifying professional equality, and a steering committee will be created "with the aim of meeting at least twice a year to monitor the equality plan," explains Agnès Fichard-Carroll. The idea is to be firmly committed to a process of continuous improvement.
Assess and prevent pay gaps
Even though salaries for the same position, grade, and level are equal in the civil service, part-time work and the underrepresentation of women in the highest grades and levels contribute to a lower overall level of pay for women. There are few levers for effective and rapid action because, under the regulations, it is not possible to give priority to the recruitment or promotion of women. However, several measures in the plan are crucial to improving this situation, such as the abolition of the pro-rating of compensation increases for women on maternity leave so that they are not penalized.
The aim is also to raise awareness among authorities and selection panels by providing them with gender-specific information. "For example, if 70% of women have applied for a promotion compared to 30% of men, and women ultimately account for only 20% of those promoted, we need to know this," argues the vice president. This does not necessarily have to influence choices, which can be based on well-defined criteria, but we must be aware of what we are doing. There are many cognitive biases, and in all our decisions, we must ask ourselves the question of equality."
Ensuring equal access to civil service positions, ranks, and jobs
At university, as in the rest of society, gender diversity in the workplace is far from being a given. Among BIATS staff, women are in the majority in management, administration, communication, and life sciences, but are very much in the minority in IT, logistics, and engineering. Among teaching and research staff, women are rare in disciplines such as mathematics and civil engineering. To curb this phenomenon, "it is important to take early action by raising awareness of gender stereotypes from an early age.The university also contributes to this awareness by highlighting women who serve as role models for the public. The Digifilles project, led by two vice presidents, Anne Laurent and Isabelle Parrot, which aims to offer middle school girls internships in digital research labs, is another example of awareness-raising, as are the initiatives aimed at students during the "Donnerdes Elles à l'UM"month," says Agnès Fichard-Caroll.
Supporting women in passing competitive examinations and professional exams and ensuring their equal access to promotions is one of the cornerstones of this plan. To this end, awareness-raising initiatives must be carried out among competition juries and in the various recruitment processes. To this end, a brochure entitled " Recruiting without discrimination " has just been produced at the UM and is being widely distributed among juries. It is also a question of offering training on this issue of fairness to management staff, for example, but also more broadly to the entire community.
Another flagship initiative at UM is the Springboard® program. Initially designed for female teachers and researchers, the program, now called OSER, has been opened up to women in management positions."This is a training program to help women feel more legitimate and better approach their careers by gaining more confidence and better defining their choices, " explains the vice president. "The UM is a pioneer in this field, and the program has even been cited in the Ministry's reference framework." The idea now is to train trainers to enable the program to be rolled out across the university.
Professional and personal life
Teleworking, assistance with family vacations, support for cultural or sporting activities, childcare solutions... UM has long been committed to promoting a healthy work-life balance. This policy is not exclusively reserved for women, but it does benefit them. The number of nursery places reserved will be further increased to reach twenty in 2021—the size of a small facility—and the situation of pregnant women and those on parental leave will be made more secure, in particular by involving human resources representatives.
The fight against sexual and gender-based violence must also be pursued by strengthening communication with victims: reporting, support, existing protection measures within the University, etc. "A support system will be created for victims. They are often too stressed during interviews to fully take in all the information we give them, " emphasizes Agnès Fichard-Carroll. For all the measures in this plan to have a real impact, it is essential that all UM staff are aware of them. A culture of equality requires clear and effective communication, but also, and above all, the willingness and participation of everyone."