EQUALITY GUIdE - KU Leuven

Chapter 4 ! Scientific communication 203
4.1. Contents and course of the test training 240
4.1.1. The gender topic
This topic is discussed from several angles. During the first training session, the emphasis
was exclusively on gender and gender awareness. After the evaluation, some more
topics were added such as representation at universities, gender & communication and
academic careers for women. The training programme not only paid attention to the
theory about gender and gender awareness but also gave people a chance to talk
about their own experiences. That way, the following points of interest were identified.
4.1.1.1. Gender awareness
Gender is all about standards and values, which are attributed to both sexes and which
influence three levels: 1) identity or self-image, 2) normalizing functions (what is male
and what is female) and power proportions, and 3) representation.
There are many stereotypes with respect to men/women, which help us to select, process
and pass on information quicker. However, these stereotypes can easily be shattered,
with counterexamples for instance (e.g. a caring man). These ‘exceptions’ confirm
the existence of stereotypes.
4.1.1.2. Representation in society
There are many examples to illustrate that men and women are often pictured in a
different way. In television interviews for example, women are more often portrayed
240 Participants: researchers of the University of Antwerp.
The seven faculties of the University of Antwerp were represented: Sciences, Medicine, Pharmacy, Biomedical
sciences and veterinary medicine, Arts and philosophy, Law, Political and social science and
Applied economics. Almost all statutes were represented as well: 1 assistant, 2 doctoral students, 2 postdocs,
3 lecturers, 3 main lecturers and 1 professor (no full professor). In terms of age, the group was
sufficiently diversified (2 < 30, 5 < 40, 4 < 50, 1 < 60). In total, there were four women without children,
1 with 1 child, 2 with 2 children, 2 with 3 children and 1 with four children. When it comes to
methodological know-how, the group contained three experts: one methodologist with experience in
qualitative research, one with grounded theory experience and one user of the ‘focus group’ toolkit
developed at the faculty of medicine. There were female researchers with and without experience in
gender problems and people with a very critical attitude towards the gender issue. Four women mentioned
being particularly gender-oriented in their own research. A number of participants were experts in
the field of corporate communication and arts. Only one of the women had already participated in a
scientific communication training but the other four women explicitly mentioned spending a lot of time
on it. Three participants were very communicative and attribute their career success to those verbal skills.
Other people told us communication is not always what they hope it would be. The views on careers
and ambitions were very different. One of the participants was a widow, who deliberately chose to work
part-time, one person said to have a very ‘male’ career course, one is a single mother having difficulties
with the combination of work and family, there is one young woman with a ‘great guy’ who strongly
supports her, one young women spends a lot of time abroad and has to postpone her desire to have
children and one researcher who says to have evolved spontaneously into the traditional role pattern.