Representatives from Lancaster University Management School (LUMS) marked the end of a four-year project that set out to tackle gender inequalities in business and management schools across Europe and the Middle East.

The TARGETED-MPI project – Transparent And Resilient Gender Equality Through Integrated Monitoring Planning and Implementation – was funded by the EU Horizon 2020 programme, and involved researchers from six schools.

Members from Athens University of Economics and Business; LUMS; Stockholm School of Economics; Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB); the American University of Beirut; and Brunel University London joined the final TARGETED-MPI conference, Business and Management Schools for Shaping Inclusive and Diverse Workplaces, held at VUB.

The LUMS TARGETED-MPI team – Dr Sophie Alkhaled, Professor Valerie Stead, Distinguished Professor Konstantinos Zografaos, and Dr Yunyan Li – were among 70 participants. Dr Alkhaled, Director of the Academy for Gender Equality and Social Justice Research in Organisations at LUMS, was part of a panel discussion assessing the overall impact of the project, as well as lessons learned. Professor Stead presented LUMS’s key outputs in the poster session.

Attendees included project partners, researchers, decision-makers, European Commission representatives, HR practitioners, and gender equality experts.

They reflected on the project’s main outcomes, discussed the challenges and resistance institutions encounter while pursuing gender equality initiatives, and explored actions necessary for achieving long-term inclusive and diverse workplaces.

Dr Alkhaled (pictured below) said: “The four-year journey of researching, developing and implementing gender equality plans, and monitoring the first stages of their impact on our schools has been a challenging yet rewarding experience.

“What is great is that whilst the project has ended, the work will continue through the Gender Equality Observatory network, which each institution is dedicated to supporting."

The conference involved a discussion on the state of the EU’s inclusive and intersectional gender equality policies in research and innovation. It also featured panels focused on how business schools can contribute to gender equality; and how research can be turned into actionable practices in business settings.

“TARGETED-MPI has involved a tremendous amount of work from everyone involved both here at Lancaster and at the other partner institutions,” added Professor Zografos (pictured below). “Being involved in the project has been very interesting, because it is not just about doing the research, but also about trying to make sure that this research is used, and this makes it even more challenging.”

Among the outputs for LUMS as a result of TARGETED-MPI are recently produced guides on developing a gender-aware and inclusive curriculum, and on integrating gender awareness and inclusivity into research and engagement activities, as well as LUMS’ first Gender Equality report (2023). These can be found online on the Academy webpage.