Guidelines for Gender Equality Programmes in Science - GeNet

Executive Summary
An enduring pattern
The difficulty women have in reaching leadership positions is so systematically widespread in
all spheres of social life that it appears to be a deeply rooted pattern reproducing itself even
in the most advanced societies. Public attention has largely focused on women’s under-representation
in politics, business or public administration, while the existence of gender bias in
science and technology has long been underrated or even denied. This has, in all likelihood,
contributed to the supposed gender-neutrality of science, in turn based on an assumption that
considers science a rational activity which is thus hardly “polluted” by the social and cultural
dynamics producing gender discrimination.
Unfortunately, science is no exception, and the data clearly show this. In Europe, North
America and elsewhere, women tend to disappear as we progress from lower to higher levels
of scientific careers. In EU-member states, women hold fewer than 20% of all higher academic
positions (grade A), despite the fact that they account for over 55% of all university students
and for nearly 60% of all graduates. Although increases in women’s presence in highly
qualified positions are regularly reported, their actual pace is slow (about a 2% increase in
women’s presence in grade A positions over 5 years).
Yet, women’s participation in research is not the only issue at stake. It mirrors a broader and
deeper lack of recognition of the gender dimension of science, affecting its contents, methods
and priorities. This has increasingly negative impacts on research quality, research policies
and on the use of scientific results in economic and social terms.
Policy efforts
Fortunately, the significance of these issues has been grasped by many institutions and players,
both in Europe and in other parts of the world, leading to increasing commitment to gender
equality in science.
Many national governments have developed various measures to increase women’s participation
in science and technology (S&T). Since the mid-1990s, the European Commission has
greatly developed its actions in this regard, including an ever-broader array of different initiatives
and measures. In this changed environment, many universities, research institutions,
professional networks and women’s associations have designed and developed projects
focusing on gender equality in S&T.
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