Promoting gender equality at two European universities through structural change interventions: the EQUAL-IST project

This chapter is aimed at providing insights into the work done and the challenges encountered by the Departments of Information Systems at the University of Muenster (Germany) and the University of Minho (Portugal) during the EQUAL-IST project (“Gender Equality Plans for Information Sciences and Technology Research Institutions”). The project goal was to implement structural change interventions to enhance gender equality, diversity, and work-family balance at the participating research institutions. Such structural change interventions are specific activities aimed at introducing sustainable change in organizational rules, regulations, processes, and cultures. They can be contrasted with preparatory interventions focused on raising awareness about various aspects of gender equality. The project was funded by the European Union and selected from numerous other proposals submitted by European universities, which shows a policy direction toward gender equality at the organizational, country, and multinational levels.