14-15 February 2023 Valletta Campus of the University of Malta hosted the annual meeting of the COST ACTION CA20137” Making Young Researchers’ Voices Heard for Gender Equality” (Voices). Young researchers (YR) represent a growing pool of professionals in Europe; yet only slightly over half of those in the academic sector are employed on permanent contracts, compared to the vast majority of those in other sectors. Moreover, their working conditions have become increasingly unstable as they are particularly affected by the growing casualization of the academic workforce and precariousness of the academic life. They face, among other things, insecure employment conditions (short-term contracts, part-time), low remunerations, long working hours, increasing requirements (mainly mobility), intense academic competition, overwhelming administrative and organizational tasks, and a lack of recognition by research organizations. The topic of the conference was “Voicing young researchers for the future of Europe: Trends, challenges, and policies”. The young researchers actively participated the conference discussing in their presentations the following sub-topics: Precarity in academia: intersectional perspectives; Early career researchers’ voices in universities and research performing institutions; Discrimination and gender-based violence in higher education; Female and minority researchers and faculty: (In)Visibility in data and untold stories; Female and minority researchers and faculty in Basic Sciences.
