Our Gender Equality Plan is moving forward! From 19 Profeedback members who shared their insights, we gathered valuable perspectives on:
✅ Opportunities for leadership roles – 82.4% felt encouraged to take on leadership, 94.7% could pursue the opportunities they wanted
✅ Gender aspects in research – 42.1% integrating gender into their work
✅ Measures to further support women in leadership & research – Mentorship (52.6%), awareness-raising (57.8%), leadership training (26.3%), targeted funding (15.8%)
But beyond numbers, the real impact comes from the stories and best practices of our members:
Assoc. Prof. Eriona Shtembari (University of New York Tirana / SUNY Empire State University)
Her research is as Professor of Management, Head of the Business Informatics and e-Business Department. She highlights the crucial role of family support in her career and stresses how COST Actions open doors for interdisciplinary collaboration, capacity building, and policy evaluation. For young researchers, she calls COST “a gateway to expanding your academic and professional horizons.”
Ferlanda Luna (University of Coimbra)
Her research connects urban informality, climate change, and social justice. She underlines the value of COST in fostering multicultural dialogue and interdisciplinary research, helping young researchers gain confidence, share their voices, and build strong international networks.
Olivija Filipovska (Geostrategic Institute Global Skopje, North Macedonia)
Working at the crossroads of sustainability, finance, and policy, she stresses how a mentor encouraged her to link diverse fields like economics, finance, and data science. She describes COST Actions as “communities that nurture growth”, where young researchers can learn leadership, project management, and interdisciplinary collaboration.
Together, these stories showcase how mentorship, family support, and inclusive research communities can break barriers and empower women in research.
Read the full ProfeedbackGender Equality Plan Report, and watch our GEP webinar.