A call for proposals to explore gender factor in health, innovation and climate change

The GENDER-NET Plus consortium, composed of 16 partners in 13 countries and coordinated by the CNRS, is calling for proposals for research to explore the gender factor in the fields of health, innovation and climate change. Pre-proposals, which must be submitted by 1 March 2018, must involve at least three countries in the consortium. There is a provisional budget of more than €10 million for projects.

Differences exist between women and men in terms of health. These differences are not always recognized, however, and lead to inequalities. The same occurs in other domains, including digital technology, entrepreneurship and innovation, as well as in behaviours regarding climate change.

To meet these social challenges, which are among the UN's Sustainable Development Goals (SDG), the GENDER-NET Plus consortium has launched a call for projects with a budget exceeding €10 million and with support from the European Commission. Coordinated by the Mission for Women's Integration at the CNRS, the consortium brings together 16 partners from 13 different countries (Austria, Belgium, Canada, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Estonia, France, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Norway, Spain, Sweden).

Submitted proposals must explore the interactions and interdependencies between the "gender equality" SDG and one or several of the "good health and well-being", "industry, innovation, infrastructure" and "climate action" goals. Focus can be on gender-based violence, sex and gender issues in ageing and health, gender and new technologies, gender in entrepreneurship and innovation, or the gender dimension in climate behaviour and decision-making.

Every proposal must include at least three of the 13 countries taking part in GENDER-NET Plus. The Canadian Institutes of Health Research offer a tool to connect interested teams. Projects will be selected in a two-round process by a panel of international experts. The deadline to submit pre-proposals is 5 p.m. on 1 March 2018 (Paris time).

This programme follows the GENDER-NET project (2013-2016), also coordinated by the CNRS, which developed resources to promote equality between women and men in research institutions and improve how gender issues are dealt with in research projects. In recent years, the CNRS has carried out several initiatives to promote gender research: a national census on gender research (2010-2011), the creation in 2012 of the Gender Institute, a scientific interest group, specific study days and interdisciplinary challenges.