Gender Equality Plan
Empowering Innovation Through Diversity: The HCI Gender Equality Plan (GEP) 2025-2027
Strategic Context
At HealthCare Innovation (HCI), we recognize that the “leaky pipeline”—where female talent attrition increases at senior levels—is an economic inefficiency that the Tunisian HealthTech ecosystem cannot afford. While women represent the majority of health science graduates in Tunisia, they remain underrepresented in high-growth startup leadership.
Our Gender Equality Plan (GEP) is a strategic roadmap designed to align with the European Research Area (ERA) standards and fulfill the eligibility criteria for Horizon Europe funding.1
Our 5 Strategic Pillars
Consistent with the European Commission’s requirements, HCI’s GEP targets structural change through:
- Work-Life Balance: Moving beyond “presenteeism” to output-based performance, supporting caregivers with agile remote-work policies.3
- Gender Balance in Leadership: Implementing quotas for our Scientific Advisory Board to ensure diverse decision-making.4
- Equality in Recruitment: Blinded evaluation protocols for our Startup Studio to eliminate unconscious bias in venture selection.5
- Gender Dimension in R&D: Mandating that all HCI-supported clinical trials and AI algorithms account for biological sex differences to prevent medical bias.6
- Anti-Harassment: A zero-tolerance protocol for gender-based violence in our workspaces and events.8
Impact Metrics
- 59.5% Female scientific workforce in our partner network.4
- Health4Farming: A flagship program empowering rural women farmers with health tech.