Abstract:

As an essential aspect in the work of the European Union (EU), gender equality is integrated into all EU policies. A number of the EU's key priorities for the development of universities in Europe also concern issues related to gender equality. Some higher education institutions have achieved significant results in this area by introducing gender dimensions into their organizational, study and research activities, by revising or developing gender-mainstreaming strategies, or/and by developing and adopting gender equality plans (GEPs). On the one hand, Bulgaria, as a member of the EU and the United Nations (UN), shares the responsibility of governments and all stakeholders in planning, developing and adapting measures, actions and policies aimed at implementing the UN’s Agenda 2030, including the once related to equality between women and men. On the other hand, despite the significant progress towards gender equality and women’s empowerment in Bulgaria, academia is rather inactive in its efforts to foster corresponding institutional changes. The paper is devoted to one of the first attempts for implementing a GEP in Bulgarian higher educational institutions at the University of Plovdiv “Paisii Hilendarski” (PU). The main idea behind the PU GEP is to set a base for promoting, strengthening, providing, ensuring and preserving equal access for university students and employees to all activities and opportunities related to education and research regardless of their gender. Its general objectives are determined by the broader European, national and institutional policies. Until now, the second step of developing and implementing a GEP (according to the EIGE GEAR tool) by PU has been finished and the third step is in progress. As consequence a detailed analysis of the gender-related state-of-play in PU have been performed to recognise significant deficiencies or weaknesses related to GE at the university that should be addressed in the GEP. Based on the findings of the initial analysis, areas of intervention and corresponding activities and measures are projected to build the foundation in all main direction of the GE initiative at PU. It is important to note that all measures are designed to be feasible within the overall context (national, societal and institutional) and carefully weighed so as not to provoke resistance from the beginning and thus lead to the failure of the whole initiative. Since gender perspective was not explicitly in the focus of PU community till this moment, a special well-thought-out motivational campaign is currently in progress to convince all institutional stakeholders of the need and benefits of introducing such a plan at the university. The paper present the various initiatives, facts and resources around which this campaign is built.

Keywords:

Gender equality, motivational campaign, GEP, areas of interventions, measures.