Toward a stronger culture of gender equality
Ensuring equal access for women and men to all jobs, preventing potential wage gaps, promoting a healthy 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 Act of August 6, 2019 —which made such a plan mandatory—to take action in support of greater gender equality. Nevertheless,“this new legislative framework is an opportunity to formalize our actions by structuring them into a plan that we intended to be biennial,” states Agnès Fichard-Carroll, Vice President for Social Responsibility.
To develop this action plan, the vice president—who worked with the Campus Life Division (DVC), the Human Resources Division (DRH), and the Planning and Coordination Division (DPIL)—sought the broadest possible consultation. Due to the health crisis, a roundtable discussion open to all UM staff did take place on November 2, but via videoconference.“The plan was then presented to the Health, Safety, and Working Conditions Committee (CHSCT) on the 1stDecember December, and the Technical Committee’s opinion was sought before it was voted on by the Board of Directors on December 14,” adds Agnès Fichard Carroll.
A commitment to continuous improvement
What can we say today about the gender equality figures at UM? First of all, of the 4,833 staff members, 50.07% are women, compared to 49.93% men. Equality appears to be the norm. However, the proportion of women drops to 39% among faculty members and faculty researchers, and among administrative and technical staff (BIATS), women account for more than 60% of the workforce but are underrepresented in Category A positions and overrepresented in Category C positions. This observation is not specific to UM but is identical at universities with similar scopes.
To track these figures, an annual gender equality report will be produced and published in brochure form so that everyone can see how the situation is evolving. 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, initiatives will be developed to obtain the Alliance label certifying professional equality, and a steering committee will be created“with the goal of meeting at least twice a year to monitor the equality plan,” explains Agnès Fichard-Carroll. The idea is to commit fully to a process of continuous improvement.
Assessing and Preventing Pay Gaps
Even though, in the civil service, salaries for the same position, grade, and step are equitable, part-time work and the underrepresentation of women in the highest grades and steps contribute to women’s overall lower pay. There are few levers available to act effectively and quickly because regulations do not allow for prioritizing the hiring or promotion of women. Several actions in the plan are nonetheless crucial to improving this situation, such as eliminating the pro-rata adjustment of compensation increases for women on maternity leave so that they are not penalized.
The aim, moreover, is to raise awareness among decision-makers and selection committees by providing them with gender-disaggregated data.“For example, if 70% of women applied for a promotion compared to 30% of men, and yet women account for only 20% of those promoted, we need to be aware of that,” argues the vice president. “This doesn’t necessarily have to influence decisions, which can be based on well-defined criteria, but we must be aware of what we’re doing; there are many cognitive biases, and the question of equality must be considered in all our decisions.”
Ensure equal access to positions, ranks, and jobs in the civil service
At the university, as in the rest of society, gender diversity in the workforce is far from a given. Among administrative and support staff, women make up the majority in management, administration, communications, and the life sciences, whereas they are a small minority in computer science, logistics, and engineering. Among faculty members and researchers, women are rare in disciplines such as mathematics and civil engineering. To address this issue,“it is important to take proactive steps by raising awareness of gender stereotypes from a very young age.The university also contributes to this effort 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 this awareness-raising effort, as are the initiatives targeting students during the “Donnerdes Elles à l’UM”month,” states Agnès Fichard-Caroll.
Supporting women in succeeding in competitive exams and professional assessments 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 competitive exam panels and throughout various recruitment processes. To this end, a brochure titled “Recruiting Without Discrimination ” has just been produced at the UM and is being widely distributed to exam panels. This also involves offering training on this issue of equity to staff in supervisory roles, for example, but also more broadly to the entire community.
Another flagship initiative at UM is the “Springboard® or Tremplin pour les Femmes®” program. Originally designed for female faculty members and researchers, the program—now renamed “OSER”—has been expanded to include women in administrative and technical support roles.“This is a training program designed to help women feel more confident in their roles, better navigate their careers by building self-confidence, and make more informed choices, ” explains the vice president. “UM is a pioneer in this field, and the program has even been cited in the Ministry’s guidelines.” The plan now is to train facilitators to expand the program across the entire university.
Work-life balance
Telework, assistance with family vacations, support for cultural or sports activities, childcare solutions… the UM has long been committed to addressing the work-life balance. This policy is not exclusively for women, but it does benefit them. The allocation of daycare spots will be further expanded to reach twenty spots in 2021—the size of a small facility—and the situation for pregnant women and those on parental leave will be made more secure, particularly by involving human resources representatives to support them.
The fight against sexual and gender-based violence must also continue by improving communication with victims: reporting procedures, support services, existing protective measures within the University…“We will create a resource specifically for victims. They are often too stressed during interviews to fully grasp all the information we provide, ” emphasizes Agnès Fichard-Carroll. “For all the measures in this plan to have a real impact, it is essential that all UM staff be aware of them. A culture of equality requires clear and effective communication, but also—and above all—the commitment and participation of everyone.”