Participation in collective actions

The FNRS participates in several initiatives aimed at strengthening gender equality. First, like the French-speaking universities in Belgium, the Fund has been actively involved since 2015 in two important bodies established by the Wallonia-Brussels Federation:

• The Women and Science Committee (CFS) is coordinated by ARES and brings together members from universities in the Wallonia-Brussels Federation (FWB) and the FNRS, with the participation of a representative of the ministerial cabinet responsible for higher education, research, women’s rights and equal opportunities, as well as members of the FWB’s Directorate-General for Higher Education, Lifelong Learning and Scientific Research and Directorate for Equal Opportunities. Its aim is to formulate opinions and recommendations on gender equality issues in academia and science and to facilitate the exchange of information and good practices in these areas.
• The Conference of Gender Contact Persons (CPCG). Within this framework, the FNRS receives a grant from the FWB to carry out networking, awareness-raising and information activities in collaboration with the universities of the FWB. This notably enables the Fund to produce an annual report on the state of gender equality within the Fund, as well as to contribute to the preparation of regular interinstitutional reports on gender equality. In April 2025, the CPCG conducted a specific awareness-raising initiative to combat sexual and gender-based violence using a ‘Violence Meter’ (‘violentomètre’), together with information on the support services available. The FNRS distributed the materials produced internally, within its premises, and also promoted the communication campaign externally here.

Beyond its participation in the structures established by the FWB, the Fund is also an active member of the Belgian CIS-CFS Gender consultation group, which is responsible for coordinating Belgium’s position at European level on gender equality in research and innovation.
Finally, at European level, the FNRS has also been involved in one project within the Horizon Europe program: the GENDERACTIONplus2027 project, which supports the coordination of gender equality and inclusiveness objectives, along with the sharing of the best practices related to this topic. This project fosters the environment needed to enhance research and research careers while increasing gender equality.