This Gender equality plan (GEP) was created for the International Business School (IBS). This GEP offers detailed actions for realizing gender equality in IBS. The Gender equality plan was created by the joint efforts of the directorate of IBS. The main actions are based on the actions suggested by the members.

IBS is committed to the principles laid by the code of Conduct for the Recruitment of Researchers by the European Commission.

Selection of Challenges

The selection of challenges is based on the literature and reports publicly available. Gender equality in Europe has been comparatively well achieved. Nevertheless, gender-related challenges are still present in the IBS and they need to be tackled.

Identified Challenges Related to Gender Equality and Diversity

The following challenges are the outcome of our review and wider literature search as well as an internal audit.

Challenge 1: Support gender-balanced recruiting and career planning

The recruitment process in IBS is controlled by the directorate, and legally gender can be a reason for selection only when both female and male applicants are equally qualified and there is a clear disparity in the number of male and female representatives in an organization. One main option is to focus on advertising the open positions to ensure that we get good candidates – both women and men – to apply. The gender-balanced recruiting and career planning needs to be supported.

Challenge 2: Endorse peer support between employees to ensure non-discrimination and gender equality

Peer support from colleagues will be very helpful if someone has some problems, troubles, or issues and feels that s/he needs some support from the colleagues in the School. The open and supporting relations between colleagues, no matter male or female, help to achieve the goal of gender equality. We strive to find ways to support peer support activities between colleagues, which might help prevent gender-related issues.

Challenge 3: Need for women’s voice for IBS

There is currently a male dominant management group in IBS. Both directors are male. This may result in reflecting male perspectives in the institutional voice. In future recruitments, female candidates will be encouraged to join and take leading roles and where possible incentives will be provided. Currently, this male dominance because of the lack of female professors may override women in discussions. This can also make IBS attract more male students than females.

Challenge 4: Female IBS students may feel a lack of belonging to the IBS community if they are the minority in IBS

When female students are the minority in the School, they may feel a lack of belonging to the School community. This issue should be avoided by encouraging more female students to enrol and efforts to integrate them better into the IBS community.

Offering informal and formal events for students can be useful in supporting the community spirit. Without contact with other students, there will be a danger that people do not see themselves as part of the IBS community.

Action Plan to Address the Identified Challenges

The goal of the gender equality strategy in IBS is to focus on the area of personal career development of employees and to enhance the IBS community to be supporting and encouraging for all members of IBS.

In the following table, the challenges IBS faces are summarised and potential actions to alleviate these issues are provided.

Challenges	Areas of intervention	Goals	Actions
1. Support career- planning to avoid the underrepresentation of women in senior faculty positions	HR & management	Support individual career plans (Goal 1)	Action 1.1 Creating individual career plans	Activity 1.1.1. Encouraging both male and female researchers to develop in their academic career, development discussions, 50 % of the faculty members/ year
HR & management	IBS as a gender-neutral institution (Goal 2)	Action 1.2. Encouraging careers in Business and Management	Activity 1.2.1 Encouraging all faculty members for career/ development discussions Activity 1.2.2. Supporting faculty members to develop as leaders of projects
2. Endorse peer support between faculty members to ensure non-discrimination and gender equality	HR & management	IBS as a gender-neutral unit (Goal 2)	Action 2.1. Support Institutional Communication About Equality	Activity 2.1.1. Hold events to encourage discussions about non-discrimination, gender equality
2. Endorse peer support between employees to ensure gender equality	HR & management	IBS as a gender-neutral unit (Goal 2)	Action 2.2. Promote both women and men	Activity 2.2.1 Interviews among the IBS faculty members and students on how they think about gender- neutrality
2. Need for women’s voice for IBS	HR & management Teaching & student services Institutional communication	IBS as a gender-neutral unit (Goal 2)	Action 2.3. Give voice to women in IBS	Activity 2.3.1. Number of invited female and male speakers – minimum 50% women

2. Female students may feel a lack of belonging to the IBS community as they are the minority in ISS	Teaching & student services,	IBS as a gender-neutral unit (Goal 2)	Activity 2.4 Develop a peer support program in the School	Activity 2.4.1 Develop student, alumni and staff (annual) surveys to monitor gender ratios in future careers
3. Support career- planning to avoid the underrepresentation of women in senior faculty positions	HR & Management	Gender balance in the school (Goal 3)	Action 3.1 gender-balanced staff recruitment	Activity 3.1.1. Monitor gender ratio of applicants to open positions; Activity 3.1.2. The gender ratio in IBS min 30% women

Goal 1: Support individual career development

Action 1.1: Creating individual career plans

Related Challenge: Creating individual career plans

Plan:

An individual career/life plan will be discussed and documented between each employee and her/his supervisor in the yearly development discussions.

• The percentage of the junior faculty members who have their own career plans, monitored once a year in the development discussions: min. 50 %

Responsible persons: Line managers/programme leaders.

Action 1.2. Encouraging an academic career in Business and Management

Related Challenge: Support career planning to avoid the underrepresentation of women in senior faculty positions

When applying for external funding, younger members should be taken into consideration to work as co-leaders of projects. This helps those junior faculty members, especially at the beginning of their academic careers, to get valuable experience. In addition, it also offers the possibility for senior researchers to focus on their research, not spending so much effort on being a leader of several projects.

Plan:

• Encouraging both male and female researchers to develop in their academic career/ development discussions (involving all faculty members in school on an annual basis)

• Supporting young members; involving all in projects with a gender ratio of 50%

Responsible person: Line managers, department heads.

Goal 2: IBS as a gender-neutral unit

Action 2.1. Support institutional communication about equality

Related Challenge: Support career planning to avoid the underrepresentation of women in senior faculty positions

The awareness-raising of non-discrimination and gender equality needs to be transparent and discussable. The faculty members are provided with possibilities on these issues.

Plan:

• Organizing possibilities for the discussions about non-discrimination, gender equality and emotional labour 1 discussion possibility event/year

Responsible person: Line managers, department heads.

Action 2.2 Ensuring gender equality and non-discrimination

Related challenge: Endorse peer support between employees to ensure gender equality

Related Challenge: Need for women’s voice for IBS Plan

• Interviews among the IBS faculty members and students on how they think about gender- neutrality in institutional communication/ development discussions with min 60% of faculty involvement every year

Responsible person: Department heads.

Action 2.3. Give voice to women in IBS

Related Challenge: Need for women’s voice in IBS.

Plan:

Inviting both male and female speakers to give speeches at events in IBS, to students and employees. These events will not focus on gender balance but show career prospects.

• Number of invited female and male speakers gender ratio, at least 3 women speakers

Responsible person: Department heads.

Action 2.4. Peer support program

Related challenge: Female students may feel a lack of belonging to the IBS community

Plan:

Organize peer support meetings (quarterly) for faculty members and postgraduate students. All genders, also women, are given the possibility to give presentations. To monitor the gender ratio for speakers and participants on a yearly basis.

• Alumni survey and gender ratio to show IBS students the career possibilities once a year 1 survey/year

Responsible person: Line managers, department heads.

Goal 3: Gender balance in faculty

Action 3.1 Follow-up of gender balance in recruitment

Related challenge: Support career planning to avoid the underrepresentation of women in senior faculty positions.

Related challenge: Support gender-balanced recruiting and career-planning

Plan:

To monitor the gender ratio in the IBS on yearly basis.

• Encourage and monitor the gender ratio of applicants to open positions

• The gender ratio in IBS: min 30% women

Responsible person: Department heads.