Shared values, shared responsibility: Universities and equality in Europe
27 February 2026
Professor Jiří Zima, Rector, Charles University
At the beginning of my mandate as Rector of Charles University, we were deeply honoured to receive the EU Gender Equality 2025 Champions Award in the “Newcomer” category. This prestigious recognition from the European Commission is an important milestone for our institution. It acknowledges the long-term dedication of many colleagues who have worked with commitment and vision to advance equal opportunities. At the same time, it represents a responsibility to continue strengthening openness, fairness, safety and transparency across our academic environment.
This recognition comes at a time when the importance of equality and diversity is particularly visible, as we are currently marking both the International Day of Women and Girls in Science and International Women’s Day. These moments invite reflection, but also action. Across the Czech Republic, universities have made significant progress in recent years. Ombudsperson structures are becoming standard practice, collaborative national projects have produced shared methodological and educational tools, and gender equality plans are increasingly embedded in institutional strategies. While challenges remain – including the representation of women in scientific careers – the momentum of current initiatives gives reason for optimism. Structural change is no longer just a distant aspiration. It is gradually becoming an institutional reality.
For our university, international cooperation plays an essential role in this transformation. Active engagement in networks such as the Coimbra Group provides a powerful framework for learning, reflection and progress. The exchange of experience and good practice with our distinguished partners offers inspiration that cannot be generated in isolation. Whether through the Equality & Diversity Working Group or through collaboration within the Research Support Officers, Doctoral Studies, Employability, and Academic Exchange and Mobility Working Groups, among others, these shared perspectives help us continuously improve the conditions in which our academic communities learn, work and thrive.
Today, our commitment to democratic values, fairness and equality is more important than ever. Universities carry a responsibility that extends beyond teaching and research, embracing a broader societal role grounded in public trust. We are not ivory towers removed from the world around us. At a time of global uncertainty and increasing pressures on academic freedom, universities must actively safeguard the principles that enable open societies to flourish. By embedding equal opportunities and ensuring a fair, transparent, safe and healthy environment, universities contribute not only to their own institutional development, but also to the strength, resilience and integrity of the wider European academic space.
I would therefore like to express my sincere gratitude to all colleagues whose sustained commitment has transformed our equal opportunities agenda into lived institutional practice, an effort that has contributed to this important European recognition. I am confident that we will continue to build on this progress together. My thanks also go to our international partners within the Coimbra Group. It is both a privilege and a pleasure to be part of such a vibrant and forward-looking academic community.