Gender Equality and Inclusive Communication Plan
Gender Equality and Inclusive Communication Plan
COST Action CA22114 – Maternal Perinatal Stress and Adverse Outcomes in the Offspring: Maximising infants’ development (TREASURE)
VERSIONS AND HISTORY OF CHANGES
This document is based upon work from COST Action CA22114 (TREASURE) Maternal Perinatal Stress and Adverse Outcomes in the Offspring: Maximising Infants’ Development, supported by COST (European Cooperation in Science and Technology).
COST (European Cooperation in Science and Technology) is a funding organisation for research and innovation networks: www.cost.eu.
1. COST Excellence and Inclusiveness Policy Analysis
The COST Action TREASURE (CA22114) comprises 460 members from 38 Full COST Countries. Gender distribution is currently 81% women and 19% men, which reflects the gender distribution typically observed in the field of peripartum mental health. Mandatory leadership roles are held by women in 90% of the cases, significantly surpassing the COST indicatory target of 50%.
Participation from Inclusiveness Target Countries (ITCs) is strong (44%), with 43% of all members being young researchers. In terms of ITC inclusiveness, TREASURE includes members from 23 ITC countries and 15 non-ITC countries, thereby exceeding the minimum requirement of 12 participants from ITCs. However, only 10% of young researchers and 1 ITC-based researcher currently hold mandatory leadership roles. Nevertheless, it is important to highlight that many ITC-based and young researchers hold significant leadership roles within TREASURE that are not classified as mandatory leadership positions (e.g., Gender Balance and Young Researchers Coordinator, Working Group co-leaders, subgroup leaders, etc.).
2. Objectives and Priorities
– Increase gender equality, i.e., actively recruit participants of underrepresented gender for WG participation, leadership roles, and activities
– Promote young and ITC-based researchers into leadership roles
– Explore mechanisms for equitable access to leadership roles, in alignment with COST policies and Core Group decisions
Additional initiatives – language inclusivity:
The COST Action TREASURE is committed to the use of inclusive language in scientific and non-scientific communication, including presentations, publications, website, social media, and other.
Achieved
– Our Gender Balance and Young Researchers Coordinator, Maja Žutić, gave a well-received presentation to the Core Group (March 17, 2025) on gender balance and adopting inclusive language in both academic and public communication
– The Action provided extensive resources for inclusive language on its website: https://www.treasurecost.eu/2025/02/05/cost-webinar-how-to-submit-research-to-open-research-europe-2/
3. Plans and Actions
a) Gender balance
– Monitor and report gender balance among speakers (e.g., training school trainers), participants of project activities (e.g., training school trainees, STSM participants), and other activities
– Encourage gender-balanced representation such as by trying to invite a balanced representation of genders in key events and activities (e.g., training schools) and positions (WG members, leadership roles)
– Celebrate key awareness days on social media
b) Inclusive Language and Communication
– Systematically apply inclusive language in all communication (scientific and non-scientific e.g., social media, website)
– Circulate information to Action participants about inclusive language resources provided on the website
– Create guidelines for inclusive language (in collaboration with WG6, create a document regarding the use of inclusive language and disseminate it to Action participants)
– Provide training (e.g., hold a workshop/webinar on gender equality and inclusive language to Action participants)
– Offer resources (e.g., disseminate relevant materials to Action participants)
– If available, participate in the COST Academy events on gender equality and inclusive language
– Provide new information and materials on inclusiveness and equality on the official Action website: https://www.treasurecost.eu/2025/02/05/cost-webinar-how-to-submit-research-to-open-research-europe-2/
– Promote using inclusive language in calls and templates
– Promote inclusivity in photos and videos on social media and website posts:
- showing people in all their diversity engaging in a variety of different roles,
- using colour schemes that avoid gender stereotypes and are visible to people with colour blindness,
- showing a range of ages, backgrounds, races, and ethnicities to reflect the fullness of society.
c) Monitoring and Evaluation
– Publish annual GEP reports and revise plans if needed
– Track and analyse participation by gender, age, and ITC status
d) Future general plans regarding balance and inclusiveness
Regarding gender and geographical balance, COST TREASURE is actively working to increase the engagement of:
- researchers of the underrepresented gender (e. males),
- researchers from currently non-participating countries,
- younger and more ITC researchers to take on leadership roles (e.g., through informal networking opportunities, discussion groups, etc.).
Celebrate key awareness days on social media, e.g.:
- International Day of Women and Girls in Science – 11.2.
- International Women’s day – 8.3.
- World Maternal Mental Health Day – the first Wednesday in May
- Mother’s Day –the second Sunday in May
- International Men’s Day – 19.11.
- World Mental Health Day – 10.10.
- International Father’s Day – the third Sunday of June.
In line with our commitment to language equality, we plan to:
- Promote using inclusive language in all forms of communication (text, images, videos, papers, and social media),
- Organise and participate in webinars and workshops, and provide resources.
These efforts support COST’s commitment to fostering an inclusive research environment that values equality, diversity, and excellence.
4. Timeline and Responsibilities
Activity | Timeline | Responsible person/group |
Provide inclusive language and gender-balance training to Action participants (e.g., a webinar or a workshop) | By February 2026 | WG6, Gender-balance and Young Researchers Coordinator (Maja Žutić) |
Promote leadership opportunities for young and ITC-based researchers | 2025-2026 | Gender-balance and Young Researchers Coordinator (Maja Žutić), Action Chair, Core Group |
Annual GEP report | Yearly | Gender-balance and Young Researchers Coordinator (Maja Žutić), Action Chair |
Celebrate important milestone days on social media/website | Throughout the year | WG6, Gender-balance and Young Researchers Coordinator (Maja Žutić) |
Create a document regarding the use of inclusive language and disseminate it to all Action participants | By the end of 2025 | WG6, Gender-balance and Young Researchers Coordinator (Maja Žutić) |
