A pre-event workshop organized by ISC as part of the Beijing Science Dialogue.
Date: 19 October 2026
Time: 9:00 – 12:30 local time
Venue: China National Convention Center (CNCC), Beijing, China
Livestream: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89539030766
A record of the first part of the program will be available after the event.
How can scientific organizations translate evidence on gender equality into meaningful institutional change? This interactive workshop will bring together ISC Members and experts to discuss priorities for action, identify implementation challenges, share promising practices, and explore opportunities for collective action. The discussion will inform the development of an Implementation roadmap for gender equality in scientific organizations and the next phase of work in this area.
This workshop will provide a space for ISC Members to discuss the implications of the project’s findings, identify priority areas for action, explore barriers to implementation, and consider how they can work collectively within the ISC to advance gender equality within their own institutional contexts.
The first part of the workshop will be livestreamed and recorded.
Programme
| 9:00 – 9:10 — Welcome and framing. Lea Nacache – ISC Gender Equality Focal Point |
| 9:10 – 10:10 — Session 1: Organizational presentations Four ISC Member organizations will each present a short reflection on their own experience of advancing gender equality. Mary Garson – President, International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry Nathalie Lemarchand – President, International Geographical Union Ken Nibayashi – Director General, International Affairs Department, Science Council of Japan Marie-Francoise Roy – International Mathematical Union, Standing Committee for Gender Equality in Science (SCGES) member |
| 10:10 – 10:30 — Presentation of the ISC gender equality plan and of the SCGES 2025-2026 report Catherine Jami – ISC Board Member |
| 10:30 – 11:00 — Coffee break |
| 11:00 – 11:45 — Session 2: Breakout groups Participants will divide into small groups seated by table. Discussion questions: – What good practices already exist within your organization, and what made them work? – What are the main difficulties of your organization towards gender equality ? What prevents action? – What resistance is encountered, and what evidence or support is missing? – – Which recommendations from the report are already implemented by your organization ? Which could realistically be implemented within 12 months ?Which require governance reform, additional resources, or are politically difficult? – What collective action should the ISC coordinate, for example common indicators, a peer-learning network, an implementation toolkit, an annual reporting mechanism, or a community of practice? |
| 11:45 – 12:15 — Building the roadmap Each participating organization will be asked to take stock of where it stands and choose one area it can start working on immediately. The ISC will convene the group on a yearly basis to monitor progress against these commitments. |
| 12:15– 12:30 — Closing and group picture |
The main questions that will be addressed during the workshop include:
What good practices already exist within the membership?
Ask organizations that have made progress to explain:
- what they changed;
- how they secured buy-in;
- what failed;
- what they would do differently.
What prevents action?
- What resistance is encountered?
- What evidence is missing?
- What support would help?
Which recommendations from the report could be implemented within 12 months?
- Which require governance reform?
- Which require additional resources?
- Which are politically difficult?
What collective action should the ISC coordinate?
Some barriers cannot be solved by individual organizations. Some potential collective actions include:
- common indicators;
- peer-learning network;
- implementation toolkit;
- annual reporting mechanism;
- community of practice.