Common Measures in Gender Equality Plans at Catalan Universities from a Structural Change Approach

Abstract

Despite the legal framework for gender equality in science developed by the European Union, significant territorial disparity in its implementation has been identified (Caprile et al., 2022; Krzaklewska et al., 2023). The situation in Catalonia is of particular interest in light of a governance system that promotes common gender equality measures across all Catalan universities. This governance system is rooted in the 2015 Catalan Equality Law, which imposed several mandatory requirements on universities. Within this system, the Women and Science Committee (WSC) of the Inter‐University Council of Catalonia plays a key role. Our research employs qualitative and quantitative techniques to analyse the implications of common Gender Equality Plan (GEP) measures at Catalan universities. The qualitative analysis involves two steps: Our first step consists of a documentary analysis of GEPs implemented at all Catalan universities from 2006 to 2023, followed by a qualitative comparison between the first GEP and the most recent one approved. From a quantitative standpoint, we proceed with an aggregated regional data analysis of the “Women in Science” Indicators to assess the conditions and positions of women in Catalan academia between 2015–2016 and 2022–2023. On the one hand, we detected that agreements under the WSC framework are incorporated into the GEPs of Catalan universities. On the other hand, the findings capture the persistence of gender imbalance in academic positions while also showing a trend towards gender equality with some specific areas of resistance, such as in the case of single‐member decision‐making positions.