Guidelines for Gender Equality Programmes in Science - GeNet

Graph 2 – Proportion of men and women in a typical academic career, students and academic staff,
EU-27, 2006 (%)
100
%
Women
Men
80
60
40
55
45
59
41
52
48
55
45
56
44
64
36
81
20
19
0
ISCED 5A Students
ISCED 5A
Graduates
ISCED 6 Students ISCED 6
Graduates
Grade C Grade B Grade A
Source: European Commission, 2009
Women are even more under-represented
in science and engineering careers (graph
3), where women account for only 31% of
students. It is true that their presence is
growing not only among graduates (34%), as
is the case when considering all fields
together, but also among PhD students and
graduates (36%). But, at this point, the
general pattern shows up again and the
proportion of women drops in the subsequent
hierarchical echelons, with a comparable
attrition rate to all other study fields
(European Commission, 2009).
To explain these patterns of vertical
segregation, a “generation effect” hypothesis
is often proposed, implying that women
at grade A are proportionally represented
considering the small proportion of women
students when they entered the pipeline. A
slight generation effect can indeed be
documented considering that the youngest
generations are better represented at the
highest levels than older ones. At EU-27
level, for instance, women account for 23% of
grade A academics among 33 to 44-yearolds,
compared to 18% of the oldest age
group (over 55 years). It must be noted,
however, that differences are really slight,
especially considering the increase in the
proportion of women among students and
graduates, and that they are not consistent
across countries.
Data accurately comparing women’s
presence among students and grade A
academics in the same age group could
clarify this point, but they are currently
lacking. An estimate can be made for Italy, a
country where women’s presence at grade A
Graph 3 – Proportion of men and women in a typical academic career in science and engineering,
students and academic staff, EU-27, 2006 (%)
100
%
Women
Men
80
60
69
66 64 64
67
78
89
40
34 36 36
31
33
22
20
11
0
ISCED 5A Students ISCED 5A Graduates ISCED 6 Students ISCED 6 Graduates Grade C Grade B Grade A
Source: European Commission, 2009
22