The INCLUDE project launched its initiative to drive intersectional gender equality in the BioMedical Research and Innovation (R&I) sector during its Kick-Off Meeting (KOM) held on January 14-15 in Venice. Coordinated by Smart Venice, this ambitious project funded by the European Commission within the Horizon Europe Programme, brings together 11 partners from 10 countries across Europe, forming a geographically inclusive consortium encompassing Northern, Eastern, Southern, and Western Europe.

INCLUDE is expected to address intersectional gender inequalities within biomedical research organizations by developing, piloting, and evaluating innovative Gender Equality Plans (GEPs) to advance inclusivity in research organizations.

Dr. Maria Sangiuliano, the project coordinator, expressed her enthusiasm for the initiative: "INCLUDE represents a crucial step towards creating sustainable change by integrating intersectionality into the heart of Gender Equality Plans, ensuring that our actions are inclusive, impactful, and transformative". The meeting was introduced by Jade Iafrate, Policy Officer European Commission DG-RTD and INCLUDE Project officer, and Silvia Abad, European Research Executive Agency (REA) and INCLUDE project officer, who recalled how gender equality keeps being at the top of the EU agenda, and that they have high expectations from the INCLUDE project.

The two-day meeting served as a platform for partners to align strategies, outline the project’s objectives, and kickstart the co-design of GEP pilot actions. The discussions emphasized the importance of tailored training programs, mentoring schemes, thematic hubs, and collaborative learning.

IMBB/FORTH participates in all work packages of the project and coordinates the Community of Practices that will be set up by the project. It will further lead the thematic Hub on Gender and Intersectionality in BioMedical research, and will organize a related event in Crete. This is the first European project on gender issues with the participation of IMBB/FORTH. Iannis Talianidis, Emeritus Researcher of IMBB, indicated that “this project will be help improving IMBB and FORTH Gender Equality Plan by providing novel inputs from different viewpoints, which will help identification and better understanding of less obvious, hidden inequality matters”. Athanasia Papoutsi, member of the IMBB gender equality group and the FORTH Gender Equality and Antidiscrimination Committee of FORTH, highlighted that “this project is a great opportunity to gain expertise and tools to address intersectional gender inequalities, initially focusing on biomedical Institutes, but eventually targeting not only IMBB/FORTH, but, also the local and national research community”. The project “promotes an inclusive environment that supports the integration of women into scientific research and encourages their active participation in decision-making roles within the governing bodies of IMBB/FORTH. By doing so, it drives innovation and brings diverse perspectives to the research community” according to Maria Markaki, member of the IMBB Gender Equality Group.