The directors and managers of the PRBB and all the centres of the park –Hospital del Mar Research Institute, Centre for Genomic Regulation (CRG), Department of Medicine and Life Sciences (MELIS-UPF), Barcelona Institute for Global Health (ISGlobal), European Molecular Biology Laboratory – Barcelona (EMBL Barcelona) and Institute for Evolutionary Biology (IBE: CSIC-UPF) – have recently signed a joint letter of commitment to Equality, Diversity and Inclusion in the park, which you can read here.
→ Charter of Commitment of the PRBB and its Centres to Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (PDF)
Adherence to this charter is a way of giving visibility to the firm commitment of the leadership of the PRBB centres to equality and non-discrimination, and has been one of the visible results of the survey of perceived discrimination launched a year ago by the PRBB’s Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) Committee.
Discrimination survey: pending challenges
The mission of the PRBB EDI Committee is to support the park and its centers in their purpose of being diverse, equitable, inclusive and respectful organizations. For this reason, among other activities (which you can consult here) it has organized a couple of anti-discrimination campaigns (#BeRespectful) and launched a survey at the end of 2023 in order to capture the perceptions of park residents about discrimination and equal opportunities.
The survey collected the participants’ data on their type of job (71% of respondents are dedicated to research and 29% to administration or support), gender (66% are women, 30% men, and the rest are distributed in other identities), sexual orientation (73% are heterosexual, 13% bisexual and 10% homosexual), age (50% are under 35 years old, while only 6% are over 55 years old), their origin (87% are non-Roma Europeans, and 13% have other origins) and disability status (92% have no disability, 6% have a disability and 3% prefer not to answer). It also collected their personal experiences and opinions on the institutional management of these issues.
With a participation of 267 people, the results of the survey were analysed and a detailed report was drawn up for each institution, which has been shared with the respective leadership.
The report includes proposals in general lines to address the challenges identified, such as giving more support to people of different nationalities and origins, insisting on awareness campaigns or increasing workers’ confidence in the response of the institutions. The signing of a joint commitment by all the park’s institutions has also been the result of these proposals.
Institutional support and lived experiences
The survey has revealed that some groups perceive a difference in opportunities. 19% of women perceive having fewer opportunities than men, while 32% of people with disabilities feel significant inequalities.
In contrast, almost 90% of respondents believe that institutions are making adequate efforts to reduce or manage discrimination.
The vast majority of survey respondents believe that PRBB institutions are making adequate efforts to reduce or manage discrimination. Even so, almost a third think that more support is needed for some specific groups.
However, according to respondents, there are areas that need more resources and attention, especially in support for reasons of nationality and origin (37%), racial or ethnic identity (30%), social class and age (30%).
Actually, there is a strong agreement between these areas and the aspects for which the people participating in the survey have reported having felt more discriminated against, isolated or harassed: by issues related to nationality or origin (35% of non-Europeans), gender (30% of women), age (30% of those >55), disability (20%), maternity/paternity (17% women and 5% men) and racial identity (13% non-Europeans, 3% European).
To report or not to report
A relevant aspect of the survey results is that only 20% of respondents who have experienced discrimination decided to formally report it. Among those that did, 50% are unhappy with the institutional response.
The analysis of the reasons for not reporting points to a lack of trust in the system (24%) and even fear of possible consequences (22%). It should be noted, however, that in 14% of the cases the reason was ignorance about the protocols; and in the rest, they considered that the case would be difficult to prove (16%) or that they had been minor problems or due to different points of view (11%) – as well as situations that have been “normalized”, although they should not be normal (13%).
The way forward
The survey has highlighted how a large majority of respondents are satisfied with the efforts made by institutions to reduce or manage discrimination.
Nevertheless, there is room for improvement and the results underline the need to continue developing more effective and inclusive initiatives. It is also important to improve both the trust and the response of institutions to complaints, as well as to raise awareness of the rights of those affected.
We hope that the results of this survey will serve to inform the next actions to continue working for an inclusive environment that respects the great diversity of the Park’s community.
The joint signing of the Letter of commitment to Equality, Diversity and Inclusion by the leadership of the PRBB centers is a first step in the right direction.
