Raise awareness of gender bias in the recruitment process: implement training and accountability for selection committee (SC) members or recruitment panels; uphold the male-female ratio during the recruitment process.

SCs play a decisive role in promoting professional equality. Research in human and social science has revealed that during recruitment processes, unconscious selection biases are particularly prevalent and influence choices. The Ministerial Circular of 18 June 2020 which is aimed at ensuring equal treatment in recruitment processes to guarantee professional equality and limit selection bias, recommends raising awareness of this issue. UGA adopted a ruling by its BA in March 2021 relative to the recruitment of lecturers and university professors, which includes the obligation for SC chairpersons to provide the Academic Board with a detailed report of the SC’s inclusion of equality and the upholding of the male-female ratio during the recruitment process, to the benefit, if necessary, of the under-represented gender among candidates at all stages of recruitment, i.e., pool, applications, interviews, ranking and selection. This action is in keeping with Action 2.2 of the HRS4R which ensures that recruitment committees are equipped and informed to execute their recruitment duties via the implementation of guidelines.