Gender equality

What is gender equality?

Gender equality means real equality between women and men in professional, social and political life.
It is not only a matter of numbers: it also involves equal rights, responsibilities and working conditions.

In scientific research, promoting gender equality means encouraging diversity of ideas, strengthening teams and creating an environment free from stereotypes, so that everyone can thrive.

Gender equality at ICube

At ICube, gender equality between women and men remains an important issue.
Today, women are still underrepresented among researchers and permanent staff, highlighting the ongoing challenges in the scientific research sector.

ICube is actively working to create a more inclusive and fair working environment.
A dedicated equality committee raises awareness, provides support, and develops concrete actions to reduce gender inequalities.

Measures are also in place to promote gender diversity within teams, support women’s career development, and address stereotypes that can hinder professional advancement.

Thanks to these efforts, ICube has made significant progress toward greater gender equality.

The proportion of women among permanent researchers and faculty members increased from 17.6% in 2016 to 21.4% in 2021.
Women currently hold 21% of team leadership roles. These figures reflect a positive trend, even though further efforts are still needed to achieve true equality.

<em>Researchers and associate professors</em> — Researchers and associate professors

<em>Technical and administrative staff</em> — Technical and administrative staff

<em>Postdoctoral staff</em> — Postdoctoral staff

Our initiatives

PhD students and gender equality: a quiz that gets you thinking

As part of an awareness-raising initiative, several PhD students took part in a quiz on gender equality in research.
With simple (and sometimes surprising) questions, spontaneous reactions, and moments of reflection, the quiz shared key information in a fun and accessible way.

This original approach opens the discussion on an essential topic, drawing on personal experiences and common assumptions.
Watch the video to find out more!

ICube puts equality on display

Several variations of the ICube logo were created around themes of gender equality and inclusion. They are accompanied by stickers featuring strong or playful messages, offering a different way to share ideas and making it easy to display clearly and confidently the values of the Equality Committee on a laptop, a door, or in a laboratory corridor.

Thanks to these initiatives, ICube has made significant progress toward greater gender equality.
The proportion of women among permanent researchers and faculty members increased from 17.6% in 2016 to 21.4% in 2021, and women now hold 21% of team leadership roles. These figures reflect a positive trend, even though further efforts are still needed to achieve true equality.