VOICES - Making Young Researchers’ Voices Heard for Equality

Over the last decades, European higher education and research systems have been characterized by deep changes. While doctoral and postdoctoral researchers constitute a fast-growing workforce, their working conditions have become increasingly precarious and their career prospects uncertain. Moreover, their working conditions have become increasingly unstable. They face, among other things, insecure employment conditions (short-term contracts, part-time), low remunerations, long working hours, increasing requirements (mainly mobility), intense academic competition, overwhelming administrative and organizational tasks, and a lack of recognition by research organizations. PhD candidates are still often perceived as “students” instead of full researchers.

Those processes tend to exacerbate and create new forms of gendered inequalities for Young Researchers and Innovators (YRIs), first and foremost women – that have been magnified by the COVID-19 crisis. Those inequalities are also reinforced by disparities within academia linked to other social determinants, such as origin, socioeconomic status, sexuality, or ability. For example, as for the post-doctoral phase, women tend to occupy more precarious positions and they drop out on the way to permanent positions, commonly known as the “leaky pipeline” phenomenon.

However, current institutional Research & Innovation (R&I) policies, including gender equality policies, rarely consider YRIs’ specific challenges. Moreover, implementing efficient and impactful policies that promote sustainable gender equality remains a great challenge throughout R&I institutions.

The main aim of the VOICES conference is to increase visibility of inequalities faced by Young Researchers and Innovators (YRIs) from a gender perspective and to promote a sustainable dialogue between YRIs and stakeholders in the research ecosystem at the systemic level (European & national policy-makers) and the institutional level (senior researchers, academic managers) by creating a community of gender equality practitioners composed of various stakeholders (YRIs, researchers, academic managers, organizations) across Europe and beyond.

The conference will bring together for discussion the presentation of the main results of the VOICES COST Action (CA20137 from 2021 to 2025, see gendervoices.eu for more information) and the research on the same topic. The programme will combine academic presentations, keynote speeches, round tables, workshops and other events. 

Programme 

9 juillet 2025, Salle Dussane 

18h - 18h30 : Welcome
Welcome speech and opening of the session Gender Based Violences
Anne-Sophie Godfroy - VOICES Action Chair
Elif Kaya - WG4 co-leader
Philippe Liotard - WG4 leader
Results of the Working Group 4 on the Gender Based Violences

18h30 - 19h : Keynote speech 
Creating Safer Academic Spaces: A Young Researcher's Perspective on Gender-Based Violence from the EU to the Local Level
Zuzana Andreska - General Secretary of the Gender Studies Programme at Sciences Po Paris, will present results of the SAFEDUC Project

19h - 19h30 : Speech
Mapping Gender-Based and Sexual Violence in Higher Education: Insights from the SAFEDUC 2024 Survey
Violette Toye - Ph.D. student at Charles University in Prague, specializing in socio-legal studies and public policy

19h30 - 20h : Speech
Doing “Dirty Work” in Academia: Personal and Institutional Experiences of Researchers Working on LGBTQI+ Topics in Europe
Dr. Shaban Darakchi - Junior researcher at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences

20h-21h : Round Table 
Ordinary sexism in academia: status quo, impacts and how to deal with it
This roundtable is organised by the european platform of women scientists
Chair:
Colette Guillopé - Université de Paris Créteil, France

Welcoming cocktail in Rotonde Dussane 

10 juillet 2025

8h30 - 9h : Welcome Coffee, Salle Dussane 

9h - 10h : Opening Speech, Salle Dussane 
Opening Speech of the Gender Voices Final Conference
Frederic Worms - Director of Ecole Normale Supérieure
Anne-Sophie Godfroy - VOICES Action Chair

10h - 10h30 : Speech, Salle Dussane 
Unlocking knowledge, experience, and good practice in inclusive mentoring
Marta Warat - WG1 Leader

10h30 - 11h : Speech, Salle Dussane
Gender in Research and Academia: Insights from migration history & leadership
Jennifer Redmond - Associate Professor in Twentieth Century Irish History at the Department of History, Maynooth University, Ireland

Coffee break 

11h30 - 12h15 : Plenary Working Group 3 
Panel discussion: Gender as a research dimension
VOICES Visions for Gendered Research
Speakers: Clemens Striebing & Anita Thaler - WG3 Co-Leaders
Chairs: Rakibe Kulcur & Gilda Hoxha
Invited participants: Jelena Grahovac, Anita Thaler, Clemens Striebing, Gul M. Kurtoglu Eskisar, Jennifer Dahmen-Adkins, Edna S. Falorca da Costa, Vivian Stamou, Katerina Pastra, Anne-Sophie Godfroy

12h15 - 13h : Plenary Working Group 1
Employment, Career Development and Mobilities
Speakers: Ola Thomson ; Marta Warat & Maria Lopez Belloso - WG1 Co-Leaders
Chairs: Victoria Showunmi & Anne-Sophie Godfroy

Lunch and Coffee break 

14h30 - 16h : Parallel Session Working Groups, Salle Dussane 
WG 1: Employment, Career Development & Mobilities
Chairs: Ola Thomson; Marta Warat & Maria Lopez Belloso
Confluence of Teaching, Research, and Family Life: Work-Life Balance in Academia Focusing on Gender - Theranda Beqiri
In search of belonging. Women's experience in STEAM bachelor's, master's and PhD-programmes across European universities - Katalin Oborni
The Impact of ReMO COST Action on Researcher Mental Health on Policy in European Research Governance - Brian Cahill; Murat Gunes
Teaching while Black and Female: Navigating Mental, Curricular, and Professional Aggression - Victoria Showunmi; Stephen D. Hancock

WG 2: Leadership & Decision-Making (Salle Cavaillès)
Chairs: Ivana Nacinovic & Vanya Rangelova
Breaking Barriers: Early Career Researchers and Their Quest for Representation in the
decision making bodies of the German Higher Education Institutions. - Panourgias Papaioannou
Leadership and Decision-Making Roles of Early Career Researchers: Insights from a Western Anatolian University - Baysan Sultan
Diversity of representation and voices of early career researchers in university decision-making: European comparative perspectives - Liudvika Leisyte

WG 4: Gender Based Violence (Salle Celan)
Chairs: Elif Kaya & Philippe Liotard
Collaborative Institutional Approaches and Legal Frameworks: Strengthening Gender Equality and Protection in Higher Education - Anja Vervoorts
Institutional Challenges for Addressing GBV and Precarity among Early Career Researchers - Mirelur González-Oronoz
Sexual Harassment of Students by Lecturers in Universities of Tirana - Roland Lami

WG 5: Intersectionality (Salle Beckett)
Chairs: Victoria Showunmi & Anne-Sophie Godfroy
Decolonising Researchers' Intersectional Lived Experiences: A Narrative Inquiry within the COST Action VOICES Network - Maria Brown
Symposium: Sharing insights about WG5 Special Issue on Intersectional approaches to educational research through a gendered lens (European Education Research Journal) - Eleni Meletiadou
Education, intersectionality and transition to basic vocational training from a gender perspective - Nadal-Masegosa Antonio

Coffee break 

16h30 - 18h : Parallel Session Working Group 
WG 1: Employment, Career Development & Mobilities (Salle Dussane)
Chairs: Ola Thomson, Marta Warat & Maria Lopez Belloso
From Margins to Mainstream: Advancing Gender Equality for Young Researchers through Policy, Regulatory Science, and Funding Gateways - Theo Zacharis
How Precarious Work Widens the Gender Gap in European Academia – And How to Fix It - Gül Ertan Özgüzer
Economic instability in social sciences: Insights from qualitative data in Romania - Ana Maria Preoteasa
The impact of female employment in academia on the well-being of researchers and the sustainability in Latvia - Liva Grinevica

WG 2: Leadership & Decision-Making (Salle Cavaillès)
Chairs: Ivana Nacinovic & Vanya Rangelova
Representation of women in research and innovation. The Republic of Moldova case - Diacon Maria
An autoethnography of a female researcher : Rise Like a Phoenix - Şerife Durna
The role of civil society organizations (CSOs) in combating anti-gender policies in Moldova - Victoria Lisnic

WG 4: Gender Based Violence (Salle Celan)
Chairs: Ivana Nacinovic & Vanya Rangelova
Enhancing Protective Policies to Combat Gender-Based Violence in Higher Education: Challenges, Barriers, and Strategies for Strengthening CİTÖB Units in Turkey - Asuman Özgür Keysan
Evaluation of Theses on LGBTI+ Issues in Higher Education in Turkey - Özgün Pehlivan

WG 5: Intersectionality (Salle Beckett)
Chairs: Victoria Showunmi & Anne-Sophie Godfroy
Gender and Intersectional Belonging in Software Engineering - Anna Szlavi, Norwegian University of Science and Technology - Jennifer Dahmen-Adkins
Transatlantic Transformations: Black Women Reimagining Identity Through Study Abroad - Kimberley Aparisio
Surviving in the ableist ivory towers: Exploring neurodiverse precarious female early career academics' experiences through an intersectional lens to build supportive and inclusive Higher Education Institutions in Europe - Eleni Meletiadou

Break

18h30 - 19h30 : Plenary Working Group 6 (Salle Dussane)
Data Collection, Monitoring and Evaluation
Speakers: Rakibe Kulcur & Gilda Hoxha - WG6 Co-leaders
Chairs: Marta Warat, Ola Thomson & Maria Lopez Belloso

19h30 - 20h30 : Plenary Session (Salle Dussane)
Roundtables with Young Female Researchers: Experiences and challenges
Chairs: Anne-Sophie Godfroy - VOICES Action Chair

Networking cocktail 

11 juillet 2025

9h - 9h30 : Welcome coffee (Salle Dussane)

9h30 - 11h : Parallel Session Working Group 

WG 1: Employment, Career Development & Mobilities (Salle Dussane)
Chairs: Ola Thomson, Marta Warat & Maria Lopez Belloso
Career Mentoring III – an intersectional approach to mentor young female* researchers - Michaela Gindl
Gender sidparities in academia and mental health : a systematic review of the albanian higher education context - Eglantina Dervishi
Tailored Mentoring Strategies for Overcoming Specific Intersectional Challenges: Insights from the SelmaMeyerMentoring Program - Ekaterina Masetkina
Leveraging Inclusive Marketing Strategies to Address Structural Inequalities for Early Career Researchers in Academia - Burak Yaprak

WG 3: Gender as a Research Dimension (Salle Cavaillès)
Chairs: Clemens Striebing & Anita Thaler
Exploring Gender in Turkish Political Discourse: A Preliminary Computational Analysis of Official Webpages of Political Parties - Gul Kurtoglu Eskisar
Resistances among proposal evaluators to policies promoting sex and gender analysis in research - Jana Dvorackova
Disabled by a structure: Revealing why children struggle with learning and drop out with a focus on mental struggles as embodied intersecting violence in Nepal - Anna Hata

WG 6: Data Collection, Monitoring & Evaluation (Salle Celan)
Chairs: Rakibe Kulcur & Gilda Hoxha
Gender Disaggregated Data Collection: the case of Research Centers and Independent Research Institutes - Margarita Zachariou
Gender Disparities in Academic Research Funding in Austria: A Current Overview - Nataliya Rohr-Udilova
Interactive Workshop on Gender Equality Evaluation Tools - Şerife Durna

11h15 - 12h15 : Plenary Working Group 2 (Salle Dussane)
Data Collection, Monitoring & Evaluation
Speakers: Ivana Nacinovic Braje & Vanya Rangelova - WG2 Co-Leaders
Chairs: Elif Kaya & Philippe Liotard
The Strategic Role of Early Career Researchers in Academic Governance - Contrasting Theory and Real Life Dynamics

Lunch & Coffee break 

14h - 15h : Plenary Working Group 5 (Salle Dussane)
Intersectionnality
Speakers: Victoria Showunmi - WG5 Leader
Chairs: Clemens Striebing & Anita Thaler

15h - 16h : Plenary (Salle Dussane)
White Book Session and outputs
Anne-Sophie Godfroy - VOICES Action Chair

16h - 16h30 : Keynote Speech (Salle Dussane)
Martin Andler - Professor Emeritus UVSQ and President of a-Ulm

16h30 - 17h : Closing speech (Salle Dussane)
Anne-Sophie Godfroy - VOICES Action Chair