Promoting equality to attract more talent
Only one woman is head of a research group among twelve groups. Idiap figure is in the average. To compensate the lack of talents, in addition to its education and recruitment strategies, the institute is committed to foster female careers. Studies* have shown it’s necessary to give confidence to girls in order to let them feel legitimate when choosing a scientific path. This is why the Future en tous genres Day (future for all genders) is for girls and employee children only. Thanks to that, girls hold a majority and gain self-confidence during interactive workshops. The success of this formula illustrates the interest for domains like artificial intelligence, biometrics and robotics.
Initiatives at each stage
Another tool used by Idiap is the Female Fellowship programme. The aim of this initiative is to offer female researchers an opportunity to develop their own work at Idiap. This programme is a tool for women to reinforce their careers at various stages, e.g. for a kick-start at the beginning, a chance to explore a new field without constrains or a way to come back to work after a break. The successful candidates benefit from Idiap’s network, data and infrastructures. The institute approach is particularly flexible. Thus an applicant can be even offered a permanent position depending on her profile, her project and current opportunities.
More information
- Futur en tous genre (in French)
* « Offres extrascolaires MINT en Suisse, vue d’ensemble et analyse 2016 », swiss academies communications, vol. 12, n°6, OFS, Statistique de l’éducation 2017 / étudiants HES