The Jožef Stefan Institute (JSI) has received the Newcomer Gender Equality Champion Award for its Gender Equality Plan, adopted in 2022 by the institute's scientific council. The plan addresses key areas with concrete measures and establishes a framework to prevent gender-based violence, sexual harassment, and bullying.
JSI Director Leon Cizelj stated upon receiving the award that the institute's long-term strengths in diversity and inclusion, with more than 1,300 employees, stem from solid international cooperation and a high degree of interdisciplinarity in research. He emphasized that effective collaboration between physicists and engineers has long been one of the institute's key strengths, driven primarily by the initiatives of female and male researchers. He noted that the ATHENA project has built on this tradition by introducing structured top-down support and involving social science experts and dedicated administrative assistance.
Cizelj added that gender equality and inclusion are a central pillar of the institute's efforts and that JSI offers a significantly safer, more inclusive, and diverse working environment that allows staff to focus more on their core mission of scientific excellence.
The European Commission created the Newcomer Gender Equality Champion Award to systematically promote gender equality in research and innovation organizations across the EU. Since 2022, it has recognized institutional strategies for promoting gender equality in all aspects of research and innovation for outstanding results in implementing gender equality plans. This year's recipients also include Bielefeld University, the Open University of Catalonia, Charles University in Prague, and University College Cork.
