iHEALTH Updates Its Gender Commission
The new team, made up of researchers at different stages of their scientific careers, has taken charge of continuing to drive the institute's Institutional Gender Equity Strategy, which sets out six areas of work spanning the entire research cycle.
iHEALTH's Gender Commission was renewed with the goal of leading, coordinating, and monitoring the implementation of the institute's Institutional Gender Equity Strategy, a document that establishes guidelines for promoting gender equity from the career life cycle of scientific talent to the methodological design of research itself.
As Claudia Prieto, director of iHEALTH and leader of the initiative, noted: "With the renewal of this commission, we continue taking concrete steps toward more equitable science. It's not just about increasing women's participation in research, but about transforming the structural conditions that allow that talent to develop, stay, and reach leadership positions within our institute."
The team reviewed the strategy's roadmap and the commitments tied to each of its six pillars: attraction and recruitment of female talent; retention and scientific development of talent; promotion and advancement toward leadership; governance and organizational culture; communications and strategic engagement; and gender perspective in research.
On this point, the director of iHEALTH stressed that the ongoing challenge "is to turn these guidelines into permanent, measurable practices shared across the entire institute community."
Six pillars for a cross-cutting strategy
iHEALTH's Institutional Gender Equity Strategy is aligned with ANID's Institutional Policy on Gender Equity in Science and Technology and applies across the entire institute community.
Notable initiatives include the AImaginar STEM program and summer internships to attract female talent from early career stages; formal mentoring and other spaces for dialogue that iHEALTH has developed, such as "Coffee with Women Academic Leaders," to strengthen networks; a seed fund for reintegration after maternity leave; and an annual award recognizing research led by women.
Leadership of the strategy rests with the gender equity committee and the initiative's leader, together with the institute's principal investigators, who report their progress to iHEALTH's Steering Committee. Compliance is measured through a set of annual indicators, including female participation by academic level and equity in the allocation of internal co-financing funds, mobility grants, and scholarships.
iHEALTH Gender Commission:
Claudia Prieto — Director, Principal Investigator, and RRI Leader for Gender Equity
Aline Xavier — Junior Researcher
Isabella Bratti — Pre-doctoral Researcher
Evelyn Cueva — Postdoctoral Researcher
Sofía Lazo — Doctoral Student, Universidad de Valparaíso
Sofía Gac — Executive Director
Min Ha Lee — Doctoral Student, Universidad Católica
Anyone wishing to learn more about the Institutional Gender Equity Strategy can write to info@i-health.cl.
