ICCT's Gender Equality Plan
The International Centre for Counter-Terrorism is dedicated to Gender Equality within our institution. This Gender Equality Plan (GEP) describes the commitments and actions ICCT takes to achieve this, including some of the goals and actions we have as an organisation, the resources we dedicate to this, data collection and monitoring, and training for ICCT staff. We believe that a GEP strengthens us as an organization and ensures a welcoming and dynamic work culture, while also ensuring our work reflects the distinct needs of diverse populations. This plan is revisited on an annual basis.
What is Gender Equality?
Gender equality means equal rights, responsibilities and opportunities for women and men and girls and boys. The principle of gender equality is integrated into our workplace culture and environment, and into the work we do.
Gender Equality in our Workplace
In our workplace, ICCT has already dedicated notable resources to this GEP. For example, our Ethics, Sustainability, Gender, and Inclusivity Working Group holds monthly internal meetings with staff members who have been actively developing this gender equality policy, in addition to a staff harassment policy, and ethics policy. These policies are a core part of the ICCT Staff Handbook, presented to all current and new staff upon onboarding. ICCT also has a dedicated Monitoring and Evaluation Officer who is responsible for all internal process evaluations and supports the development and measurement of gender equality indicators. ICCT regularly integrates Gender Advisors into major projects, and are a member of the Gender Champions Network.
We annually collect data to assess the state of gender equality at ICCT. We are proud to say that since becoming an independent entity in 2021 we have achieved the following:
- 35% male and 65% female staff
- Staff in Senior roles (Senior Research Fellows, Deputy, and Director) 50% male and 50% female
- 20 female (40%) and 30 male (60%) ICCT Associate Fellows
Furthermore, all new ICCT staff take the Government of Canada’s open access Gender-Based Analysis Plus course to ensure gender-based analysis is reflected on in our work. We are also in the process of developing a list of helpful resources to integrate as appropriate in our projects.
We have a zero tolerance for gender-based violence including sexual harassment in our workplace. To ensure strict compliance with this, we have a dedicated Trust Counsellor who staff can report to if they have concerns and a dedicated follow-up process.
Gender Equality in our Work
We integrate gender-based analysis, and consider gender dimensions consistently in our work. For example, considering how the situation and needs of, and challenges facing, women and men (and girls and boys) differ in relation to issues relevant to counter-terrorism which we work on. We also regularly encourage gender-diverse teams and ensure gender-based analysis is reflected in our research designs, policy recommendations, project developments, and outputs more generally.
Furthermore, in our public events, webinars, podcasts, and others we ensure we consistently include conference speakers, panels, topics and viewpoints across diverse gender, ethnic, and geographical representation on subjects of interest to our audience. ICCT is committed to integrating a more intersectional and inclusive approach to the planning and implementation of our activities, including our events, trainings, and publications.
The Monitoring and Evaluation Officer conducts regular impact analyses of ICCT’s work in general and its individual projects. An inclusive and gender-sensitive approach to projects is critical for effective and impactful projects. Therefore, ICCT’s project design and associated Monitoring and Evaluation framework consider how interventions (aim to) impact men and women at different times. Besides a thorough understanding and integration of gender-sensitivity into ICCT’s projects, the Monitoring and Evaluation Officer also develops meaningful indicators and methods to measure gender equality and gender-sensitivity of the projects – for example, success is not reduced to reaching gender quotas, but rather focuses on the quality of engagement and the plurality of perspectives. The Monitoring and Evaluation Officer will continue to innovate ICCT’s data collection and monitoring activities, which would help us further enhance our GEP.