Decisión XXVIII/6: Política de Género en Proyectos y Actividades del IAI

This briefing, prepared by the Executive Directorate of the Inter-American Institute for Global Change Research (IAI), presents a proposed Gender Policy for IAI scientific projects and activities. The policy aims to ensure gender equality in research and capacity building, recognizing that gender is a social construct and not binary. It establishes five primary objectives to promote regional leadership in gender equality, integrate gender dimensions into science, eliminate selection biases, create inclusive research environments, and develop gender-focused training.

• The IAI Gender Policy aims to ensure gender equality in scientific projects and capacity-building activities, aligning with the goals of IAI Parties to promote women's empowerment and high-quality regional science. The policy recognizes that gender is a social construction that varies by society and is not binary, noting that individuals with diverse gender identities often face discrimination and underrepresentation in science.
• Data indicates a persistent gender gap in science across the Americas. In Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC), women make up 45.8% of researchers on average, but are underrepresented in STEM fields by 36%. In North America, women represent 27.5% of the STEM workforce. The document notes that women in STEM are less likely to reach leadership positions, publish less, and receive lower pay due to factors such as discrimination and domestic pressures.
• Internal IAI data from 2002 to 2021 reveals a gender gap in leadership roles for scientific projects. Only 29% of principal investigators (22 out of 75) in Collaborative Research Networks (CRN) and Small Grants Projects (SGP) were women, while women represented 36% (194 out of 527) of all researchers in those projects.
• IAI capacity-building activities have shown more balanced or female-predominant participation. Between 2012 and 2019, women represented 51.5% (467 out of 906) of participants in 24 training events. Additionally, research internship programs saw 86% female researcher participation in the first program, and 67% female intern participation in the latter.
• The policy outlines five strategic objectives: 1) enhancing regional leadership in gender equality in science; 2) integrating gender dimensions into IAI-supported activities, including requiring gender equality clauses in grant agreements; 3) eliminating biases in project selection through gender-neutral language and balanced peer-review panels; 4) establishing inclusive environments, including a zero-tolerance policy for sexual harassment; and 5) developing training and guidance materials to facilitate gender equality.
• To support researchers with female parental leave, the IAI Executive Directorate will attempt to provide flexible grant management, including potential extensions of grant periods and additional funding, subject to the availability of external resources.

APA

Inter-American Institute for Global Change Research (2021). Decisión XXVIII/6: Política de Género en Proyectos y Actividades del IAI. https://archive.iai.int/administrador/assets/images/ckfinder/files/iai-cop-29-8-es.pdf

Chicago

Inter-American Institute for Global Change Research. Decisión XXVIII/6: Política de Género en Proyectos y Actividades del IAI. 2021. https://archive.iai.int/administrador/assets/images/ckfinder/files/iai-cop-29-8-es.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Inter-American Institute for Global Change Research |title=Decisión XXVIII/6: Política de Género en Proyectos y Actividades del IAI |date=16 April 2021 |url=https://archive.iai.int/administrador/assets/images/ckfinder/files/iai-cop-29-8-es.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{interamericaninstituteforglobalchangeresearch2021decisin, author = {{Inter-American Institute for Global Change Research}}, title = {{Decisión XXVIII/6: Política de Género en Proyectos y Actividades del IAI}}, institution = {Inter-American Institute for Global Change Research}, year = {2021}, month = apr, url = {https://archive.iai.int/administrador/assets/images/ckfinder/files/iai-cop-29-8-es.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }