EWORA Webinar “Gender Equality and Academic Careers in the Age of AI” 6 March 2026 | 14:00 CET | Online

International Women’s Day 2026

Rights. Justice. Action. For ALL Women and Girls

EWORA Webinar “Gender Equality and Academic Careers in the Age of AI”

6 March 2026 | 14:00 CET | Online

Participation is free of charge.

Please register in advance via the link below:

🔗 Registration Link:

https://us06web.zoom.us/meeting/register/zxhxo7K2T1GT7PtepkSmtA

After registration, participants will receive a confirmation email with access details for the webinar.

Kindly note that the webinar (except for the discussion part) will be recorded and later shared for dissemination purposes.

On the occasion of International Women’s Day 2026, marked globally under the theme “Rights. Justice. Action. For ALL Women and Girls,” the European Women Rectors Association is pleased to host a high-level webinar addressing one of the most pressing transformations in higher education: the intersection of Artificial Intelligence and gender equality in academic careers.

Universities are not only centres of knowledge production; they are institutions entrusted with upholding rights, ensuring fairness, and shaping future societal leadership. In a time when AI increasingly influences recruitment, promotion, research evaluation, teaching, performance monitoring, and institutional governance, the responsibility of academic leadership becomes even more critical.

While AI offers important opportunities for innovation and efficiency, it also raises fundamental questions regarding fairness, transparency, accountability, and the safeguarding of academic values. Without governance frameworks grounded in justice and institutional responsibility, AI risks reproducing structural inequalities rather than advancing inclusive academic environments.

As a network of women rectors and senior academic leaders across Europe, EWORA places strong emphasis on values-led academic governance. In alignment with the International Women’s Day 2026 theme, this webinar will explore how higher education institutions can ensure that AI supports gender equality in academic careers and remains firmly anchored in principles of equity, transparency, academic freedom, collegiality, and institutional integrity.

The webinar also provides an inclusive learning platform for current and future academic leaders, including candidates of the EWORA Academic Leadership and Mentoring Programme.

Programme

Moderator

Pamela Gillies – Former Vice Chancellor, Glasgow Caledonian University

Welcome Address

Kerstin Tham – President, European Women Rectors Association

Panel Speakers

Josep M. Garrell – President, European University Association

Diana Rėklaitienė – Rector, Lithuanian Sports University

Sondan Durukanoğlu Feyiz – Former Rector, Kadir Has University

Patrycja Matusz  – Vice Rector, University of Wrocław

Andreas Jacobsson – Vice Rector, Malmö University

Objectives

• Explore how AI is reshaping academic careers, including recruitment, evaluation, promotion, and leadership pathways.

• Examine the implications of AI for gender equality strategies and institutional policies in higher education.

• Discuss how universities can embed fairness, transparency, accountability, and integrity into AI-supported decision-making processes.

• Share institutional and research-based perspectives on AI bias, inclusive machine learning, and ethical governance frameworks.

• Strengthen dialogue among university leaders on responsible and values-based AI governance in higher education.

Panel Focus Areas

• Institutional leadership and responsibility in AI governance

• Gender equality and academic careers in AI-supported environments

• AI bias, gendered knowledge production, and inclusive machine learning

• Ethical AI, transparency, and accountability in academic decision-making

• European and global perspectives on regulation, policy, and institutional practice

Expected Outcomes

• Enhanced understanding of AI’s implications for academic careers and gender equality.

• Increased awareness of aligning AI use with fundamental academic values.

• Exchange of institutional practices and leadership perspectives across countries.

• Strengthened EWORA positioning as a leading voice on gender equality and responsible academic leadership in the AI era.

• Added value for mentoring programme candidates through exposure to senior leadership dialogue.