Guidelines for gender equality

RJ’s mission is to fund research of the highest scholarly quality. Applications are assessed objectively and only in terms of this quality. Thus, gender quotas are not applied. Each year, RJ tracks the gender distribution of applicants and the recipients of grants to determine if the gender balance changes significantly over time.

RJ actively strives for gender balance in its review bodies and the Board. By this, we mean that at least 40 per cent of review bodies and decision-making bodies are to be made up of one or the other gender.

Goals

• RJ is to have gender balance in its review bodies and decision-making bodies.
  The goal is for at least 40 per cent of review bodies and the Board to be male or female. Here, RJ defines all members of the review panels and external reviewers as one category and members of the Board as another.
• RJ is to encourage an even gender balance among grant applicants. In its external interactions and information initiatives, RJ is to strive to reach both men and women in the same way. As a research funding body, however, RJ can only reflect the existing state of the higher education sector as a whole, as we do not apply quotas for female and male researchers in our calls. For this reason, we track developments over time through our annual follow-ups, and the CEO provides feedback to the Board and to the sector where appropriate.
• Women and men are to have an equivalent award rate as application rate. The gender distribution of successful applicants is only noted after the review panels have decided on their proposals to the Board based on a judgement of scholarly quality, relevance and feasibility. Any deviations from the 40–60 principle for the different support forms are reported to the CEO, which assesses whether this is an issue that should be taken up with the Board. (Support forms  with a limited number of awarded grants per year naturally vary over the years, and this only becomes a point of discussion if the secretariat has been able to observe a trend over several years.)
• Support forms, calls, assessment criteria and review procedures are to be designed in such a way as to ensure that researchers, regardless of gender, have the same opportunities to receive funding.

Responsibility for ensuring adherence to the gender equality guidelines

The CEO is responsible for ensuring that gender equality is pursued in accordance with these guidelines. The RJ Board has ultimate responsibility for ensuring that gender equality is promoted within RJ’s work.