The Organisation
The University of Zagreb (1669) is the oldest and biggest university in South-Eastern Europe. Ever since its foundation, the University has been continually growing and developing and now consist of 30 faculties, three art academies and the Centre for Croatian Studies.
The Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Computing (FER) is the largest technical faculty and leading educational and R&D institution in the fields of electrical engineering, information and communication technology and computing in the Republic of Croatia.
Status of gender inequalities
Current statistical data demonstrate clear gender imbalance in all research and professorship grades. Women make up 28% of assistant professors, 5% of associate professors and 11% of full professors. In total, women make up 16% of research staff and 63% of administrative staff. As for governing bodies, there are 38 faculty boards each having a president and 5-6 members. Women make up 15% of faculty board members and 5 of the presidents are women. Only 1 woman covers the role of head of department. The statistics also show clear general unbalance among enrolled students. Women make up 23% of undergraduate students, 20% of graduate students and 24% of doctoral students. Women make up 10% of principal investigators in international research projects. No measures take gender into account in research evaluation and in teaching activities.
Existing gender equality policies at a faculty level
In the last strategic document Development Strategy of the Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Computing of the University of Zagreb 2013 – 2017 it is stated that a mission of the Faculty is to be an institution of high academic values, ethical principles and of equality for all its members. However, the faculty has not started designing GEP. There are no other policies nor initiatives that tackle gender inequalities. Statutory Documents and Regulations prescribe that any gender-based discrimination is prohibited, however, there are no means or Faculty bodies that ensure this is being carried out. No internal documentation on the topic of gender inequalities is available.
