Department of Political and Social Sciences
Gender Equality and Inclusion Policies implemented by the Department of Political and Social Science (SPOL).
The Department of Political and Social Science actively supports policies on gender equality and, more broadly, on wide-ranging social inclusion. They form an integral part of the University of Cagliari’s strategic focus and are reflected in all three of the objectives of the University’s mission: educational activities, the development of international research projects of the highest quality, interaction with the territory - at local, regional and national scale - in keeping with the operational interpretation of its “third mission”.
As regards the first objective, a gender mainstreaming approach is used when administering the courses on offer. Over the years, this long-lasting approach has involved - in terms of both content and methodological perspective - many educational courses that build on the multidisciplinary concept that has characterised the Department ever since its foundation. These include, by way of example, the “Gender Equality” laboratory coordinated by Prof. Silvia Benussi, during academic year 2021/2022, within the Master’s Degree Course in Social Innovation and Communication (2/69).
The aim of the laboratory is to examine the historical and current impact of gender on institutions and society, and on their interactions. It specifically focuses on two perspectives that intertwine with the topics addressed:
- the study of discrimination against women, the historical roots that have determined it, analysis of the stereotypes and beliefs that keep it afloat, its impact on society and on common welfare, and the actions to counter it;
- the study of women’s participation in politics and society, focusing on the resources put in place to pursue women’s rights and enhance equality policies. The aim of the laboratory is to offer theoretical and methodological tools and skills to analyse the historical development of these issues and understand their impact on today’s society.
As regards the participation in international research projects strictly focused on Gender Equality topics, the Department can currently count on at least three European partnerships for excellence. The projects include Department members as scientific contact persons, as well as the organisational structure of SPOL for the management of scheduled activities, representing the entire University.
The project is the four-year international project SUPERA (Supporting the Promotion of Gender Equality in Research and Academia) funded by the Horizon 2020 programme, running from 2018 to 2022 (Grant Agreement 787829), and implemented by a partnership involving UniCa (University of Cagliari, Italy), UCM (Complutense University of Madrid, Spain), YW (Yellow Window, Belgium), Sciences Po (National Foundation of Political Science, France), CEU (Central European University, Hungary), UC-CES (Centre for Social Studies, Portugal), MINECO (Ministry of Economy, Industry and Competitiveness, Spain), RAS (Autonomous Region of Sardinia). Three SPOL lecturers belong to the Italian Core Team of the project, which led to drafting and approving the first Gender Equality Plan of the University of Cagliari in July 2020, considered a good practice at national level. Each lecturer is a team leader for a specific working package: Ester Cois for WP4 (Training Activities), Barbara Barbieri for WP7 (Monitoring and Evaluation) and Alessandro Lovari for WP8 (Communication and Dissemination).
In this respect, the SPOL Department played a key role in drafting and formalising the Gender Equality Plan (available at https://unicapress.unica.it/index.php/unicapress/catalog/book/978-88-3312-021-8), confirming its strategic position in promoting Europe’s founding principle of gender equality. It plays a dual role as a place for socialising as a means to counter inequalities and apply the principles of equity of substantive citizenship, and as a widely varying working organisation able to prevent the risk of unequal distribution of positions and progression of professional careers.
SPOL also offered its significant contribution in the consultation phase for the development of the 32 strategic actions of the Gender Equality Plan. The Head of the Department, Mariano Porcu, constantly participated in the HUB to support the core team during the preliminary and executive phases of the plan.
Starting from December 2020, the SPOL Department is also the Italian contact point for the three-year international project SMILE (Social Meaningful Impact through LifeLong Learning Universities in Europe), within the Erasmus + KA3 Social Inclusion and common values programme 621433-EPP-1-2020-1-BE- EPPKA3-IPI-SOC-IN, coordinated by EUCEN.
The Project focuses on the topic of inclusiveness in university education, with particular reference to three thematic pillars: migration experience, gender inequalities and socio-economic background. Building on these three priority areas, Smile is designed to support male and female students in disadvantaged situations due to ethnicity, gender connotation and socio-economic background, promoting participation, progress and academic achievement. The operational skills related to Pillar 2 of the project, which are focused on the topic “Women in Leadership”, have been assigned to the SPOL Department. The SPOL Department is the administrative office of reference for the management of Unica’s participation in the project. It includes the Principal Investigator, Ester Cois, as well as academic staff members who are part of the working group - Nicola Melis, Valentina Cuzzocrea, Alessandro Pes, Federica Falchi, Marco Zurru, Barbara Barbieri and Isabella Soi, each with activities incorporating a gender-based approach according to their multi-disciplinary expertise.
Starting from 2021, the SPOL Department has been involved in the international European project UNISafe (Gender-based violence and institutional responses: building a knowledge base and operational tools to make universities and research organisations safe). It represents the University in a partnership of 35 international RPOs, coordinated by the European Science Foundation, on the topic of combating gender-based violence in academia and institutions of excellence. Principal Investigator Ester Cois, together with Pro-Rector for Communication Elisabetta Gola, are in charge of coordinating the activities on behalf of SPOL and UNICA. The first activities of the three-year project include the preparation and administration of a survey on combating gender-based violence in the University, according to an international comparative approach.
In terms of Third Mission activities, the SPOL Department has expressed its strong commitment to promoting gender symmetry and countering discrimination on this basis by organising numerous conferences and seminars and participating in highly important regional, national and international events. The following may be mentioned:
Collaboration with ANCI Sardegna as expert consultants in the training of more than 500 local administrators and officials on the topic of combating gender-based violence (http://www.ancisardegna.it/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/Locandina-giornate-informative-violenza-di-genere.pdf)
Participation in September 2021 in the high-profile event of the W20, the section of the G20 dedicated to gender issues, during the first Italian Presidency of the global forum, in cooperation with the regional office of AIDDA (Association of Women Entrepreneurs and Business Executives). https://www.aidda.org/news/40esimo-anniversario-aidda-sardegna-in-collaborazione-con-w20
In 2020, the Department became a member of the interdepartmental centre “Cagliari Accessibility Lab. Physical and cognitive accessibility”, represented by Ester Cois (on the scientific committee) and Nicola Melis. Their activities specifically focus on the cumulative effect of gender and health inequalities in social exclusion processes.
https://web.unica.it/unica/en/cagliari_accessibility_lab.page
The technical-administrative structure of the SPOL Department is also engaged in the topic of the operational promotion of gender equity. From this viewpoint, of note is the participation of all personnel in the 2021 Training Course “Organisational Wellbeing and Gender Equality”. The course also involved two SPOL members as lecturers: Barbara Barbieri and Ester Cois.
At the start of 2022, the SPOL Department formalised its willingness to act as a pilot site for testing the strategic action under the Gender Equality Plan on gender-sensitive administrative practice, within the University. The aim is to adapt the regulations and related forms in order to include the female gender in addition to the male gender, and to promote the use of gender language in institutional communications.
Lastly, in May 2021, the SPOL Department appointed Prof. Ester Cois for the position of Pro-Rector Delegate for Gender Equality at the University of Cagliari, a newly established position in the University organisation chart. Prof. Cois has also held the role of President of the Single Guarantee Committee since September 2021 and has contributed, as a permanent member of the CRUI Sub-Committee for Gender Issues-GEP, to defining the National Guidelines for the drafting of Gender Equality Plans by Italian Universities, which can be consulted at the link: https://www.crui.it/archivio-notizie/vademecum-per-l%E2%80%99elaborazione-del-gender-equality-plan-negli-atenei-italiani.html