Gender Equality Plan (GEP) Statement

Dear European Commission,

The Netherlands eScience Center’s vision is a robust research community, in which all investigators in all domains are able to exploit advanced digital technologies to answer curiosity-driven questions. Our mission to help create such an empowered and inclusive research community can only be undertaken meaningfully if diversity and inclusion is a priority at all levels of our organization.

The eScience Center upholds the following standards:

• high quality of our technological expertise and products;
• equal collaboration between software experts and academic researchers;
• broader impact of our activities;
• inclusive dissemination of skills and knowledge;
• open science in principle and practice;
• the sustainability and reusability of software and knowledge.

At the eScience Center we employ people from over twenty nationalities. We are open to anyone who wants to work at the eScience Center while contributing to the vision and mission of our organization. We believe it is important that everyone feels welcome and has equal opportunities. We aim to fully utilize the potential and creativity of all employees in a culture where differences in ethnicity, gender identity, sexual orientation, health, religion, age, socio-economic background, scientific background, political preference and opinions are a matter of course, and meet with no prejudice or discrimination.

Equal opportunities are embedded in the organization and the measures that underpin them are subject to continuous development. One of the central objectives of our diversity and inclusion policy is to promote gender equality in our Gender Equality Plan (GEP).

Gender equality, equal opportunities, academic freedom and social safety in academia are important themes that are high on the agenda in the political and public debate in the Netherlands. As a research organization, we follow the European Commission’s specific guidelines in this respect, including a gender equality plan aimed at:

• conducting impact assessments of procedures and practices to identify gender bias;
• identifying and implementing innovative strategies to correct any bias;
• setting targets and monitoring progress through indicators.

To facilitate diversity and further develop inclusiveness, the eScience Center has implemented a range of measures. These include a cultural competence training on multicultural awareness, mandatory for all employees.

Further details regarding our measures can be found in our diversity and inclusion policy. A Diversity and Inclusion Committee monitors the organization’s adherence to its diversity and inclusion policy. The committee consists of employees at all levels of the organization. Furthermore, the Directors of the eScience Center report progress on the GEP annually to the Board.

Yours sincerely,

Joris van Eijnatten

CEO Netherlands eScience Center