The first, second and third conferences on “Women Academics Beyond the Glass Ceiling: Women Rectors across Europe” were organised and hosted by Istanbul Technical University on 11th of November 2008, 12-14 April 2010 and 21- 23 May 2012. In these conferences we shared experiences and developed new ideas to improve the conditions for women academics to remove the barriers of horizontal and vertical segregation. The participants of these conferences agreed upon furthering this exchange and establishing a platform for European Women Rectors for future actions and activities. European Women Rectors Platform and Istanbul Technical University are happy to announce the fourth conference on “Beyond The Glass Ceiling: Women Rectors Across Europe, Role of Leadership in Structural Changes” which will be held in Istanbul on 15-17 May 2014.
 

In the Communication on the ERA 2012 “Gender” is one of the 5 priorities. Member states are invited to create a legal and policy environment and provide incentives; engage in partnerships with funding agencies, research organizations and universities to foster cultural and institutional change on gender; ensure that at least 40% of the under-represented sex participate in committees involved in recruitment/career progression and in establishing and evaluating research programs. Horizon 2020 Art. 15 emphasizes structural change to ensure equal opportunities and to promote women’s careers and integration of gender dimensions in research and innovation content.
 

The theme of the fourth conference will be the role of leadership in structural changes for achieving gender equality in academia. As it is widely accepted that leadership plays a crucial role in all change processes in Higher Education and Research we have decided to focus on “Role of Leadership in Structural Changes” for the forthcoming conference. The aim of the conference is to articulate a set of recommendations for different bodies such as European Commission, nation states and academic institutions. We hope and expect to discuss such questions as: What are the structural changes that we need in higher education and research? How are we going to initiate change? How are we going to monitor these processes? Participants who are or have been leaders in academic institutions are expected to design their presentations on the bases of career experiences as well as the aims and the contents of the conference thema. 

There has been a close collaboration between The European Women Rectors Platform (EWRP) and The World Women University Presidents Forum (WWUPF) since 2010. They have agreed to work together for future developments. One of the sessions in the program will, therefore, be devoted to the organization of the 2014 WWUPF conference which will be held in Beijing in Autumn 2014.
 

Please inform us about your intention to make a contribution to this event by registering online until 30th March 2014. We look forward to meeting you on May 15-17, 2014 in Istanbul.