The Permanent Working Group on Gender in Research and Innovation of the European Research and Innovation Area Committee (ERAC SWG GRI) is an advisory group of the EU Council that brings together representatives from Member States and partner countries to promote equality between men and women in research and innovation and to integrate the gender dimension into science and research and innovation programming and strategies.
The precedent of the ERAC SWG GRI was the Helsinki Group on Gender Equality in Research, established by the European Commission in 1999.
Its mandate includes the following functions:
- advise on the development of initiatives in the different policies and frameworks related to science, research and innovation in order to:
- improving gender equality in research and innovation, including aspects of work and family life conciliation,
- integrating the gender dimension into research content and programmes,
- modernise research institutions,
- mobilise stakeholders to promote gender equality,
- facilitate the development of gender priority in the European Research Area (ERA),
- exchange good practices at local, regional, national and European level in order to facilitate joint activities of Member States and associated countries,
- support and advise on the development of statistics and indicators on gender equality in European research and innovation; and
- raising awareness at national level of related European and national activities, through Ministries and/or National Committees involved in research and innovation planning.