Decision XXVIII/6: Gender Policy on IAI Projects and Activities

The Inter-American Institute for Global Change Research (IAI) has developed a Gender Policy on IAI Projects and Activities to ensure gender equality and the mainstreaming of women and individuals with diverse gender identities across its scientific research, capacity building, and science-policy initiatives.

• The IAI Gender Policy aims to ensure gender equality in science projects and capacity building, align with the gender equality goals of IAI Parties, and support regional efforts to improve public policy regarding global change. It recognizes gender as a non-binary social construct and acknowledges the intersectionality of gender with factors such as age, ethnicity, socioeconomic status, and sexual orientation.
• Data indicates a persistent gender gap in the Americas. In Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC), women make up 45.8% of researchers on average, but only 36% in STEM fields. In North America, women comprise 27.5% of the STEM workforce.
• The IAI's own project data reveals a gender gap in leadership; between 2002 and 2021, women served as Principal Investigators (PIs) in only 29% of projects (22 out of 75) under Collaborative Research Networks and Small Grants Projects, though they represented 36% of all researchers in those projects.
• The policy establishes five primary objectives: enhancing regional leadership in gender equality, integrating gender dimensions into supported activities, eliminating biases in project selection, establishing a gender-inclusive research environment, and developing training and guidance to facilitate equality in science.
• To eliminate selection bias, the IAI Directorate will use gender-neutral language in calls for proposals, ensure gender balance within peer-review expert panels, and provide flexibility in grant agreements, including potential extensions or extra funding for researchers on female parental leave.
• The policy mandates a zero-tolerance approach to bullying and sexual harassment in any IAI activity, which may lead to the termination of financial support or contracts. It also encourages whistleblowers to report non-compliance to the IAI Executive Director.

APA

Inter-American Institute for Global Change Research (2021). Decision XXVIII/6: Gender Policy on IAI Projects and Activities. https://archive.iai.int/administrador/assets/images/ckfinder/files/iai-ec-51-10-en.pdf

Chicago

Inter-American Institute for Global Change Research. Decision XXVIII/6: Gender Policy on IAI Projects and Activities. 2021. https://archive.iai.int/administrador/assets/images/ckfinder/files/iai-ec-51-10-en.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Inter-American Institute for Global Change Research |title=Decision XXVIII/6: Gender Policy on IAI Projects and Activities |date=16 April 2021 |url=https://archive.iai.int/administrador/assets/images/ckfinder/files/iai-ec-51-10-en.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{interamericaninstituteforglobalchangeresearch2021decision, author = {{Inter-American Institute for Global Change Research}}, title = {{Decision XXVIII/6: Gender Policy on IAI Projects and Activities}}, institution = {Inter-American Institute for Global Change Research}, year = {2021}, month = apr, url = {https://archive.iai.int/administrador/assets/images/ckfinder/files/iai-ec-51-10-en.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }