At the University of Namur, we have been pursuing a proactive and well-considered gender policy for several years now. As early as 2011, a working group on this topic was established. Since 2014, the University of Namur, like all French-speaking universities in Belgium and the F.R.S.-FNRS, has had a Gender Committee. This committee follows the policy guidelines set by the Vice-Rectorate in charge of gender.
The Gender Committee
Since 2014, the University of Namur, like all French-speaking universities in Belgium and the F.R.S.-FNRS, has had a Gender Committee. This committee carries out three main missions covering all aspects of gender issues specific to the institution: informing, raising awareness, and networking. Through these efforts, it contributes to the implementation and development of gender policy within the institution. It follows the policy guidelines established by the Vice-Rectorate in charge of gender.
Responsibilities
- Prepare an annual report on the state of gender equality within the institution
- Ensure greater visibility for gender issues within the institution by advising institutional authorities on policies to promote greater gender equality, informing and raising awareness among the university community and its stakeholders, and monitoring the implementation of actions outlined in the respective action plans
- Participate in institutional, regional, national, and international networks related to gender issues
- Propose an action plan to enhance gender equality within the institution
Composition
- Justine Bélik - PhD student in Environmental and Evolutionary Biology since 2022. Her involvement in the "Women and Girls in Science" conference led her to join the UNamur Gender Committee.
- Xavier Devroey - Professor at the Faculty of Computer Science and member of the Namur Digital Institute (NADI). His research focuses on software reliability and quality within the SNAIL team. Xavier is a PHARE (Student Harassment Protection) liaison and a member of the LGBTQIA+ community.
- Marie Dorchain – A doctoral research assistant in the Department of Mathematics at UNamur, she conducts her research at the naXys Institute. Committed to promoting women in science, she is a member of the Women and Girls in Science committee. She also participates in the MATh.en.JEANS project, which aims to introduce mathematical research in secondary schools.
- François-Xavier Fiévez – A graduate of the Catholic University of Louvain, he conducted research in the Department of Women’s Studies on feminist readings of contemporary African-American authors. He holds a Master’s degree in Foreign Language Teaching from UNamur and works on issues related to the theme “Queering the English Language Classroom” (Paiz, 2020).
- Nathalie Grandjean - PhD in Philosophy (UNamur, 2018), her research areas include feminist and gender philosophy and ecofeminism. She is a professor in the Master’s program specializing in Gender Studies. She is the author of the monograph “Généalogie des corps de Donna Haraway. Feminisms, Diffractions, Figurations,” published by Presses de l’ULB in 2021. She is an associate member of the Vulnerabilities and Societies Center (V&S). She serves on the board of Sophia, the Belgian network for gender studies. She served as PCG for UNamur from October 2017 to January 2020.
- Catherine Guirkinger - Catherine is a professor of economics at the EMCP Faculty and a member of the Center for Research in Development Economics (CRED – Institut DeFIPP). Her research focuses in particular on the role of women within their households, families, and society, from both a contemporary and historical perspective.
- Julie Henry - PhD in Computer Science and STEAM Project Manager. Her work focuses, among other things, on gender stereotypes and their influence on career choices, particularly regarding professions in STEM fields. She represents UNamur within the Women in Digital group (FPS - Economy).
- Nathalie Kirschvink - Professor in the Faculty of Medicine at UNamur. She joins the Gender Committee as Vice Dean of her faculty.
- Coline Leclercq - As the Gender Equality Coordinator (PCG) at the University of Namur, Coline ensures the implementation of the university’s commitments to promoting gender equality within its ranks. In addition, she serves as the point person for the PHARE (Student Harassment Protection) initiative. In this role, she supports students who are victims or targets of harassment, which directly helps combat the “leaky pipeline”—that is, the gradual loss of women as they progress through their academic programs.
- Fanny Martin - Professor of Archaeology in the Department of Archaeology and Art Sciences. She focuses on gender inequalities, particularly in the context of teaching Prehistory and Protohistory, and joins the committee as a representative of the Faculty of Philosophy and Letters.
- Romain Mertens - PhD candidate at the UNamur Faculty of Law. His research focuses, among other things, on anti-discrimination law. He is a member of the Women and Science Committee.
- Elsa Roland - Lecturer at the University of Namur and co-president of IRDENa. Her research explores the history and political philosophy of education, with a particular focus on relationships of domination in schools and education, their origins, and their contemporary manifestations, both within the Wallonia-Brussels Federation and internationally.
- Alyssa Sales - A graduate of UCLouvain in French and Romance Languages and Literatures, she works at the UNamur Education Administration as a program and student pathway coordinator. She is also a student in the specialized master’s program in gender studies and is writing a thesis on ecological masculinities.
- Stéphanie Wattier - A full-time professor at the Faculty of Law, she teaches the course “Law, Gender, and Society.” She is co-director of the Vulnerabilities and Societies Center (V&S) and vice-president of the Transitions Research Institute. Stéphanie Wattier is a member of the Management Committee for the Master’s program in Gender Studies and the Women and Science Committee. She served as PCG from January 2020 to September 2022.
- Alexandre Wery – PhD candidate at the Faculty of Philosophy and Letters since 2023. His research focuses on masculine identities and behaviors in rural settings during the 16th century in the former Southern Netherlands.