Date: Wednesday, 26 November 2025
Time: 15:00–16:30 CET
Format: Online
Organised by: EARMA’s Equality, Culture, Diversity, and Inclusion (ECDI) Thematic Group
Summary
The next EARMA Happy Talk invites you to explore how Gender Equality Plans (GEPs) can transform academic institutions into fairer, more inclusive, and more effective environments. Our guest speaker, Magdalena Żadkowska, Associate Professor in the Sociology Institute at the University of Gdańsk in Poland, will discuss shifting from “fixing women” to “fixing the system”, identifying and dismantling structural barriers that perpetuate inequality in academia.
About the session
In her talk, “Fixing the System for All – Introducing GEPs in Academia”, Magdalena will address the persistent gender gap in academia, where women continue to face barriers such as limited access to leadership roles, pay disparities, and unequal funding opportunities. Drawing on her research and institutional experience, she will highlight the transition from individual-focused measures to systemic reforms that promote equity, inclusion, and transparency in academic settings.
Using examples from the University of Gdańsk’s Gender Equality Plans (2021–2023 and 2024–2028), Magdalena will share lessons learned and good practices in researcher management, project governance, and diversity initiatives. The University of Gdańsk was awarded the European Union’s “Newcomer Gender Equality Champion” prize in 2024, recognising its outstanding progress in implementing GEPs and inspiring others across Central and Eastern Europe.
Attendees will gain practical insights into designing, implementing, and sustaining GEPs that drive systemic and lasting change in research institutions.
Why join the Happy Talks series?
The Happy Talks are a quarterly online series organised by the ECDI Thematic Group. They offer a supportive and interactive space to discuss key issues in research management, equality, diversity, inclusion, and research culture. Featuring voices from across Europe who are shaping more equitable research environments.
Join us to exchange ideas and explore how systemic change can make academia more equitable for everyone!
Register here: https://forms.gle/mioJp6FUjATuNTar9
The meeting link will be sent to registered participants at least one day before the event.
Speaker
Magdalena Żadkowska, PhD, Habilitation Associate Professor, Institute of Sociology, University of Gdańsk, Poland
Magdalena’s research focuses on the sociology of couples and families, gendered career paths in STEM, and interspecies family studies. She has been a Fernand Braudel Fellow at the European University Institute and is an associate member of the Centre de Recherche sur les Liens Sociaux (CERLIS), Université Paris Cité.
She has led several research projects, including “Till death do us part... Everyday life practices of 50–64-year-old couples with at least 20 years of common life experience” (NCN UMO-2018/30/E/HS6/00159, 2019–2023). Currently, she contributes to international projects such as Towards Gender Harmony, MINDtheGEPs, and Re-Wiring.
Her publications have appeared in the Journal of Family Studies, European Journal of Women's Studies, Gender, Place & Culture, and European Journal of Social Psychology.
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