A steady progress towards Diversity, Equality and Inclusion in STEM disciplines: a geoscience case study in Italy

Significant progress has been made over the last 25 years. At the beginning of the third millennium, as long as the Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia (INGV, National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology) started growing, initiatives to develop and enhance human capital flourished and consolidated in Europe. The European Charter for Researchers, the Italian Code of Equal Opportunities, and the equality strategy in the European Research Area, to quote some references, foster commitments for more welcoming working environments and more responsible research and innovation. In its turn, over decades, INGV has seen a positive shift in favor of less represented gender, in female leadership and women participation, experiencing a situation common to many research organizations which are hard sciences oriented. At the same time, work-life balance and unease mitigation measures have been piloted and implemented. Nonetheless, more collective efforts are required to face current challenges. Natural hazards have different impacts on society. Therefore, gendered and intersectional perspectives must be adopted. The paper presents general concepts about gender equality in the first section, with a particular emphasis on the principles of the European Charter of Researchers and citation of relevant literature to making geoscience more diverse, equal, and inclusive. In the second part, the case study of INGV is provided, illustrating the main achievements and ongoing activities with a gendered perspective.