📅 Date: Friday, April 25, 2025

📍 Venue: ENSMR, Rabat

Overview

The INSPIRE Workshop on Sustaining and Deepening Gender Equality Change was successfully held at ENSMR, Rabat, as part of the broader RMEIM and INSPIRE initiatives. This event aimed to promote gender equality across academic and research institutions in the Mediterranean region. It brought together 29 participants, including 18 women, representing a strong 62% female participation rate, underlining the active engagement of women in shaping inclusive academic cultures.

Agenda Summary

The workshop was officially opened by a distinguished panel of institutional and project leaders. Pr. Omar Oussouaddi, Director of ENSMR (Morocco), welcomed the attendees and emphasized the institutional commitment to equity and inclusive leadership, and his speech is summarized as follows:

The Director of ENSMR, emphasized the strong alignment of the INSPIRE project with principles of inclusion, scientific excellence, and gender equality. He reaffirmed the school’s commitment to actively contributing to this collective effort by implementing fairer, more equitable, and diversity-oriented policies. The workshop was presented as a collaborative space to reflect, share concrete experiences, and identify levers for sustainable institutional change. He shared insightful national data highlighting women’s growing participation in higher education in Morocco:

➢ 55% of university students are women.

➢ 59% of female students receive financial aid.

➢ 63% of university housing capacity is reserved for women.

➢ 57% of new enrollees and 59% of 2022–2023 graduates are women.

➢ High female representation in restricted fields: 78% in science/tech, 65% in education, 59% in medicine/pharmacy.

➢ 31% of leadership roles and 34.1% of permanent faculty positions are held by women.

These statistics reflect significant progress in gender equality but also highlight the continued need to increase women’s representation in leadership and teaching roles. The Director concluded by encouraging dialogue, interdisciplinary collaboration, and commitment to long-term transformation.

He was followed by Pr. Khaled Al-Sahili, President of RMEIM (An-Najah National University, Palestine), who key moment the importance of regional cooperation in embedding gender equality practices.

Pr. Anastasia Zabaniotou, facilitator of the RMEIM Community of Practice (Aristotle University, Greece), encouraged participants to engage in shared learning. Finally, Pr. Ibtissam Medarhri, the workshop organizer and representative of ENSMR, presented the objectives of the workshop and its alignment with the INSPIRE project.

Keynote Speeches

Liv Baisner Petersen, SDU Denmark, spoke on advancing gender equality through structured research leadership.

The second part of this workshop was:

Social Lab Activities – RMEIM Community of Practice on Gender Equality Moderated by Pr. Anastasia Zabaniotou, this interactive session included shared institutional experiences and solutions to common gender challenges. The various stakeholders are:

The closing ceremony took place at 1:30 PM, followed by a networking session held during lunch.