Sustainable research cultures guarantee environments where researchers can thrive in their personal and professional lives, and equitable opportunities are the essential elements to create such a culture.

The focus of the working group in 2024/2025 are the following:

• Countries and institutions have different good (and bad) practices.
  Thus the WG provides a space for knowledge exchange on what constitutes sustainable research cultures, how to create environments, and what are main challenges of early-career researchers in accessing equitable opportunities,
• In addition to the national and institutional context, individual circumstances play a key role in access opportunities. Social and identity factors intersect and collectively impact an individual’s experiences and opportunities, so these factors cannot be examined in isolation because they interact in ways that create unique forms of discrimination or privilege.
  Thus the WG discusses how Eurodoc best can address the intersectional nature of the question.
• In the years 2019-2024 Eurodoc has published more than 10 articles written by various members of working groups and the Eurodoc administration on topics related to equitable opportunities. However, Eurodoc has never collected these opinions into a policy document.
  Thus in the WG drafts a policy document that addresses different challenges that must be addressed in order to strengthen equitable opportunities in academia.

General goals of the WG:

• Raising awareness among early career researchers of the gaps in access to equal opportunities, the intersectional nature of the issue and the tools available to take action.
• Discussing current issues of equitable opportunities and equal opportunities, bringing together different institutional practices.
• Providing a forum for early career researchers who wish to work on equitable opportunities for personal or professional interest.

The current activities of the working group are: 

• Raising awareness among early career researchers of equitable opportunities.
• Creating a forum and safe space for talking about challenges in access equitable opportunities.
• Drafting a policy document for Eurodoc to strengthen equitable opportunities in academia.

Any ECR should consider joining the Equitable Opportunities WG if they are interested in contributing to creating a more equitable academia. Participation in the does not entail any obligation to participate in meetings or to perform any work between meetings.