International partners working to tackle gender inequality in business and management schools assembled in Lancaster to share progress and plan future actions.

Lancaster University Management School (LUMS) hosted members of the Horizon 2020-funded TARGETED-MPI project (Transparent and Resilient Gender Equality Through Integrated Monitoring Planning and Implementation) over two days.

Research teams from LUMS, Athens University of Economics and Business – the project leaders, who hosted last year’s annual project meeting – Stockholm School of Economics, Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB) and the American University of Beirut all attended LUMS, along with the project’s independent evaluation team from Brunel University.

TARGETED-MPI’s overarching objective is to benefit research organisations across Europe through the development, effective implementation, monitoring, and evaluation of Gender Equality Plans (GEPs).

Now entering the fourth year of the project, members exchanged updates and discussed plans for the implementation and monitoring of their institutions’ GEPs. Each partner’s GEP has been developed based on in-depth qualitative and quantitative data collection to form a bespoke plan with concrete actions.

The partners are working closely together to develop a network of Gender Equality Observatories that will continue to promote gender equality in business and management schools beyond the life of the project.

Professor Valerie Stead, Director of the Academy for Gender, Work and Leadership in LUMS, and Principal Investigator for the LUMS TARGETED-MPI team, said: “Through the first three years of TARGETED-MPI we have seen a drive and determination to make a real difference in business schools. Progress has been made with schools’ Gender Equality Plans, and it was great to bring everyone together once again to discuss the plans to take the next steps.”