The investigation was methodologically guided by the government document Gender Audit Standard. The gender audit evaluates gender-sensitive HR policies (e.g. fair recruitment, career development, evaluation and remuneration) and the anchoring of the principle of equal opportunities and non-discrimination in internal documents, processes and organisational culture. According to the requirements of the contracting authority, the survey at FEE CTU was also extended to students. The main target groups were women, parents and foreign workers/students. By this extension to other target groups, the Faculty of Electrical Engineering of CTU went beyond the required standards.
"The survey is an opportunity and a necessary step for us to create a favourable working environment at our faculty for anyone whose initial conditions may not be the same as those of the majority. We have received detailed feedback and recommendations that we can use in the next steps of this long-term project," said Prof. Petr Páta, Dean of the Faculty of Electrical Engineering CTU.
The recommendations resulting from the survey concern the areas of creating the necessary financial and personnel resources to coordinate and address the gender equality agenda and systematically evaluate the data needed for the personnel analyses. Other recommendations relate to the revision and updating of key documents with regard to the use of gender-balanced language. The survey also recommends the development of a training programme to familiarize both male and female staff and students with the concept of gender and the extent to which it affects research and education.
The institution of an ombudsperson who will act as an impartial contact for all internal groups and individuals can make a significant contribution to creating an equal and safe environment for all female and male students and staff. This is a tried and tested practice increasingly used by academic institutions, which FEE CTU intends to follow.
"We also see the role of the ombudsman as identifying the needs of people in the faculty whose working and learning environments are affected by the disproportionate representation of men and women. Although the percentage of female students at the FEE is increasing every year, there is still a significant gap with comparable academic institutions in Western Europe. There is potential for further growth, especially in higher education and in the proportion of women among lecturers and researchers," says Dean Petr Páta, who is convinced that a more diverse environment will attract more talent to electrical engineering and computer science, whether among women or researchers or foreign applicants.
In its efforts to create a more diverse environment, the Faculty of Electrical Engineering has also seen significant support from the commercial sector. The general partner of the survey was ŠKODA AUTO and the partner was Continental Automotive, which supported the creation of the survey at FEE CTU financially.
The final report of the Equal Opportunities Survey with recommendations is available to female students and employees of FEE CTU via Alfresco » Sdílené soubory (cvut.cz)
