Details

Category: Equality

On 29 April 2024, in compliance with one of the measures of the CSIC's 3rd Equality Plan, the Presidency approved a new update of the CSIC's protocol for the sexual harassment prevention and intervention of december 2013, previosuly updated in 2019 and 2020. This new protocol incorporates the updated equality regulations and responds to the desire to continuously improve the mechanisms to ensure that the CSIC is a safe institution. You can access the full information here.

Protocol for the sexual and gender-based harassment prevention and intervention at the CSIC.

Sexual harassment leaflet.

Complaint form (Annex I).

Units with functions and competence in the matter:

1. At the CSIC Central Organization:

Presidency: responsible for disciplinary proceedings in the case of serious and very serious misconduct.

General Secretary's Office (SEGE): delegated competence in the event of serious misconduct.

Deputy Vice-Presidencies and Deputy General Secretary's Office: monitoring and detection functions. Ex officio communication to the SGAHR and follow-up of cases.

SGARH:responsible for training on the subject and for receiving the complaint via email protocolo.acosos@csic.es, as well as for preparing the information file for subsequent referal to the CFAS.

Commision Against Sexual Harassment (CFAS): unit responsible for assessing the informative file submitted by the SGARH, as well as proposing, where appropriate, the initiation of the corresponding disciplinary procedure to the competent body.

Delegate Commission for Equality: training in equality, sexual harassment and gender-based harassment.

Ethicks Committe: advisory body on the adoption of measures.

Unit of the Commissioner for the Promotion of a Healthy and Safe Working Environment (COMSE): guidance, advice and monitoring. It provides support to the units responsible for prevention.

2. At CSIC centres and institutes: 

Heads of centres: prevention and promotion of the zero-tolerance culture. Monitoring inappropriate behaviour. In case of detection:

• They communicate ex officio to the SGARH (even if the victim does not want to report or corroborate).

• In this case, they will proceed ex officio to carry out the investigation.

• In any case, they shall establish organizational measures for the people concerned, in accordance with Annex VII, and follow up the cases.

They are also the units competent to apply the disciplinary regime for minor misconduct.

Equality committees: prevention, training and awareness-raising on the subject, as well as initial accompaniment and support for victims. They must inmediately inform the centre's management and the SGARH of any conduct detected when the person affected requests so. Support and advisory functions.

Management: functions of collaboration with the heads of centres.

Confidential Support:appointed by the SGARH from among people trained in the matter, following a proposal by the centre's head.

How to activate the protocol?

1. Request for intervention:

By completing and signing the Annex I Model of the Protocol and sending it to the SGARH via the email account protocolo.acoso@csic.es. Submitted by:

• The affected person.

• The people affected (in the case of a collective complaint).

• The management unit affected.

• Others (specify).

• Representation of the workers.

• Ex officio complaint by the head of the centre or person responsible for the unit.

 2. Anonymous complaints:

Activation of the Protocol (in case of evidences).

The organizational and victim support measures designed in the Protocol establish a maximum time of 27 days for the complete processing and response from the initial communication either verbally of through Annex I. A summary of the actions carried out throughout the protocol is shown in the following diagram:

Details

Category: Equality

News and Events: 

EVENTS:

The Equality Commission organizes different outreach activities to improve the visibility of women in science, as well as to discuss about gender biases and barriers that penalize the advancement of women in research careers.

The "11F" intiative

The IQF participates annually in the celebration of the "International Day of Women and Girls in Science" and "11F" national initiative since 2018. Below you will find the different activities organized in recent years. You can also go back to 2018, 2019 and 2020 activities.

2024: We celebrated the premier of the documentary “¿Puedes darme tres nombres?, which was created by the artist Isabel S. Barrena to learn about present and past female scientists working at IQF, their worries, expectations and scientific objectives. Also, we celebrated a roundtable to talk about the problems that female scientists are facing in our institution and provide solutions to reach equality. These activities were sponsored by CSIC, SEBBM and GE3C-RSEF-RSEQ.

Together with 11F celebration, portraits of pioneering IQF's female scientists were installed in the center's historical hall. By doing this, we pay tribute to all the women who, since the 1930s, have contributed to the development of science at the Rockefeller building.

2023: We transformed the whole IQF building into a "theater" with the play “¿Puedes darme tres nombres?, an experimental and inmersive production that aimed to recover the lives of female researchers who worked in the 'Rockefeller' building throughout its 90-year history. With this initiative, science, art and architecture were blended in this piece created by the writer, director and artist Isabel S. Barrena. The participation of IQF members was massive and in the premier, celebrated in November 2022, we had special visitors such as CSIC's President, Eloisa del Pino, and some members of the Central Organization. This activity was sponsored by FECYT, RSEQ and GE3C-RSEF-RSEQ.

2022: We celebrated 11F by remembering and highlighting pioneering female researchers as well as those who work at the center today. Would you like to meet them and learn about the research they are conducting? Have a look to the two videos we produced!

2021: The video “Mujeres del Rocasolano en tiempos de pandemia” was released.

The "draw a scientist" contest initiative

María José Sánchez Barrena, coordinator of the Equality Commission and researcher at the IQF, is also a member of the 'Women and Science group of the Spanish Society of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology' (SEBBM). She was the founder and participates in the organization and coordination of a national drawing contest for Primary School kids. The contest is celebrated annually since 2021 with the aim of promoting science among young children, and constitutes also a valuable analysis tool to study gender stereotypes in science. Have a look to the winners of the first, second and third editions and the corresponding gender analysis. 

THE IQF IN THE MEDIA:

2024:

Article published at FEBS Network on the contest "Draw a scientist",  where a global analysis on gender stereotypes in science was made based on drawings by Spanish Primary School children.

Publication at mujeresconciencia.com webpage, which promotes Women in Science. They dedicated an article to advertise the play and documentary entitled "Puedes darme tres nombres", recent IQF creations.

2023:

Article published at NUIS Diario to advertise the premier of the play "¿Puedes darme tres nombres?".

2022:

Interview published at SEBBM Magazine to promote women in science.

2021:

Article from ASEBIO on the creation of the SEBBM "Women and Science Group".

2018:

Since 2018, a group of female scientists from different institutes of the CSIC launched the initiative "Dare to be a Scientist" by organizing visits to various Secondary Education Institutes (IES) in the Community of Madrid, with the aim of encouraging students, especially girls, to choose STEM careers. To achieve this, we aim to identify the reasons why today's young women do not feel attracted to these fields. See here a video published at El Pais newspaper entitled "Romper estereotipos de género en los colegios".

2017:

Article entitled "El reto de ser madre y científica". Interview with María José Sánchez Barrena at HOY newspaper.

Details

Category: Equality

The Spanish National Research Council was the first public and private research organization in Spain to create a Women and Science Commission, which was approved by the CSIC Governing Board in 2002. This commision has two objectives: to study the possible causes that hinder both the entry and the career progression of women, and to propose to the Presidency possible actions aimed at achieving gender equality within the CSIC. Report on Women Researchers, June 2023.

Equality Plan developed by the CSIC

The CSIC's Delegated Commission for Equality has developed the III Equality Plan between women and men at the CSIC, which was approved in March 2022. The plan includes, for the first time, crosscutting measures and is framed within the regulations and action plans of the European Union and the United Nations on Gender Equality (click here for more information).

In 2023, an evaluation of the III Equality Plan of the CSIC was conducted (Evaluation and Annex). Recently, the 2024 evaluation has been also published.

Guide for Work-Life Balance in a Personal, Family and Professional Life in the General State Administration (click here).

Guide for Non-Sexist Language Use at the Autonomous University of Madrid, Adopted by the CSIC (click here).

Details

Category: Equality

In 2018, with the creation of the Equality Commission (CI-IQF), a comprehensive gender analysis was conducted. In May 2024, the CI-IQF has reviewed it. Below, a graphical analysis and set of conclusions are detailed.

Conclusions of the Gender Analysis:

• Regarding the total staff, there is almost gender parity at the IQF-CSIC.
• When comparing permanent and contracted staff, a slight disparity exists, with men slightly predominating among permanent staff and women among contracted staff.
• In terms od the distribution of contracted personnel, women predominate significantly amon predoctoral hires, whereas men significantly outnumber women among postdoctoral hires. There is also a male predominance, although less pronounced, among technical and administrative staff.
• A drastic drop in the proportion of women is notable between predoctral and postdoctoral stages. Interns were not considered in this analysis, where women represent 100%.
• The analysis of the scientific staff reveals a pronounced "scissor-like behavior", showing significant drop in the proportion of women as professional careers progress. However, there is an excpetion at the "research scientists" level, where women predominate. The glass ceiling index at IQF stands at 3.2, an unfavorable value compared to the global indices of the various CSIC areas calculated in 2022 (0.99-2.83), although it was obtained with insufficient statistical data.
• In project leadership, ther is a bias unfavorable to women in projects under the so-called "Plan Nacional" program. Conversely, in European projects, the bias favors women, although this has been calculated based on the number of projects, which in the case of European projects are concentrated amon very few individuals.
• Regarding invited seminars at the Institute, a low proportion of women was observed between 2016-2023, specifically 23%. Thanks to the analysis conducted by the CI-IQF and the identification of this issue, the proportion of invited seminars delivered by female scientists has increased in 2024 to address this unintended bias, which has previously gone unnoticed.