1

Central European Centre for Women and Youth in

Science

This project is funded by the European Commission under FP6 in the Structuring the ERA programme.

19 April 2023

2mission statement

In CEC-WYS we concentrate on :

achieving equal opportunities in research and development in four Central European countries,

examining and improving the position of young people in science

raising gender awareness in the scientific community

19 April 2023

3areas of work

women and scienceadvocate for and support women’s movement from the margins into the mainstream of the scientific community, encourage the participation in European projects, facilitate networking amongst women

young people in sciencecontribute to the debate on gendered and regional issues: mobility, brain drain, work-life balance, age-gap, reintegration and the communist legacy

gender equality in R&Draise gender awarenessorganize training on the inclusion of the gender dimension in research projects

19 April 2023

4consortium partners

National Contact Centre – Women and Science, Institute of Sociology, Czech Academy of Sciences, Czech Republichttp://www.zenyaveda.czHungarian Science and Technology Foundation, Hungary

http://www.tetalap.huJožef Stefan Institute, Sloveniahttp://www.jsi.siInstitute of Philosophy, Slovak Academy of Sciences, Slovakiahttp://www.philba.skInstitut National de la Recherche Agronomique, Francehttp://www.inra.frPolitehnica University of Bucharest Automatics, Process Control and Computers Centre, Romaniahttp://www.acpc.pub.roAgenzia Per La Promozione Della Ricerca Europea, Italyhttp://www.apre.it

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5Main objectives

sensitize wider society, empower women scientists and young scientists, generate and disseminate knowledge on gender equality in science support women and youth in science

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6objectives I

to increase women scientists’ visibility and participation in national, European and international research

increase their invitation to advisory boards and scientific committees

How? network women scientists

create an interdisciplinary database of Central European women scientists disseminated to national and international research and industrial bodies, science publications and R&D employment sites

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7objectives II

to increase the participation of women in decision-making and evaluation procedures of Framework Programme funding

How?

training workshops and flyer to inform and mobilise women to register in the database of experts

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8objectives III

to raise awareness of the implications of gender dimension of scientific research

to develop scientists’ skills in incorporating a gender dimension into their research ideas and methodologies

How?

fostering reflective practices in workshops

introducing the concept and examining concrete examples in a publicly available manual

19 April 2023

9objectives IV

prepare young researchers

to take ownership of their research projects,

to develop their skills in communication and responsible conduct of research,

to provide them with the skills and reflection to develop into effective supervisors and mentors

How?

seminars for young men and women scientists based on the Reflexives programme

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10objectives V

open up debate on the issues facing young scientists, from a regional and gender perspective, concerning mobility and work-life balance, provide a platform for young scientists make recommendations for policy development

How? publication of the findings of the Enwise workshop on young scientists and follow-upa conference, autumn 2006, to address the position of young scientists

19 April 2023

11objectives VI

To facilitate networking, exchange of experience and information among young scientists from Central Europe to establish a base from which scientists will mobilise in order to advocate their interests in a policy debate

How? creating a forum : a website section provides information on funding and mobility issues particularly for the region the planned conference will be an opportunity for networking and mobilisation for future activities

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12objectives VII

to encourage policy developments at national level concerning the issue of women in science

How? based on the Enwise expert group recommendations, CEC-WYS partners will monitor policy developments and lobby at national level

19 April 2023

13objectives VIII

to increase awareness of gender issues in general, and specifically in science among the general public and scientific community

How?

introducing gender issues in general and in science in particular in media interviews

participation in non gender specific science/research events

19 April 2023

14initiatives

web site www.cec-wys.orgdatabase of women scientistsexpert evaluators in Framework Programme 6 workshopstraining on the inclusion of gender dimension in FP 6training on the responsible conduct of scienceyoung scientists’ workshop reportyoung scientists’ website sectionwomen and science policy monitoring: ENWISE follow-up Project Sourcebook: Sharing Experiences – Building Projects

19 April 2023

15anticipated impact

empowered women and young scientists will be able to name the obstacles they face, and therefore will be more confident to advocate for their interests at institutional level

scientists better equipped with reflective skills and an understanding of the gender implications of their research will be more able to reach to excellence in their scientific research and be more effective supervisors

individual empowerment and reflective practice will contribute to changing research cultures

concerns of young scientists and women scientists will reach institutional and national policy agendas

mobilisation of women scientists will facilitate the democratisation of decision-making in science and the development of a meritocracy in the scientific community

16

Gender Issues in Science as a Luxury: Enwise Follow-up Activities in Central Europe

Dunja Mladenić,

J. Stefan Institute, Slovenia

19 April 2023

17Overview

Background

Enwise Report

Methodology

Findings

Recommendations

19 April 2023

18BackgroundETAN (European Technology Assessment Network), an expert group on women in science set up by EC in 1998

members from ten Member States of the European Union (Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Great Britain, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain and Sweden)reported on position of women in science in the European Union primarily in Western Europe

Helsinki Group on women and science, set up by EC in 1999official representatives from 32 countries, mostly Member States of EUnational reports discussing national policies on promoting women in science in the involved countries reported not very favourable situation of women in research and development overalllack of proper sex-disaggregated statistics and of harmonised data

Enwise Expert Group set up by EC in 2002members from Central and Eastern Europe and the Baltic Statesreports on women scientist often having under-funded position within the scientific community, a double burden in maintaining a satisfactory work-life balance and an implicit expectation that all hindrances form part of the private sphere without any public recognition

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19(some) Enwise recommendationsNational educational policies have to pay special attention to creating a general approach supporting gender mainstreaming from elementary school to higher education.At universities and scientific institutions a department or a person has to be appointed responsible for supporting “women and science” issues and implementing employment policies focusing on equal opportunities.Media has to improve its picture of science and conduct awareness raising campaigns in the Enwise countries. The general picture has to be more attractive for women and the younger generation.

Inspired by the recommendations of the Enwise report and putting the Enwise recommendations in specific conditions of each country

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20Purpose of the comparative report

International mapping of the situation of women in science in Czech Republic, Hungary, Slovakia and Slovenia

To present current legal developments in gender equality in science and some current statistical data on the situation of women in scienceTo empirically map the situation facing women scientists as seen through the eyes of policy makers, leading researchers and public media:

mapping the knowledge and attitudes to the position of women in science and researchscientifically - how the three groups of respondents represent the issue of gender equality and what knowledge they have of the issuepolitically - drawing the attention of relevant actors to the issue of gender equality in science and research

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21Who was involved

National politics (questionnaire A): representatives in charge of science and education policy (eg., Ministry of Higher Education, Governmental Office for Equal Opportunities)

Science and research (questionnaire B): senior representatives of the higher education institutions (eg., rectors of universities, deans of faculties), the Academy of Sciences

Media (questionnaire C):representatives of decision-makers in influential public press, national radio and television

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22Method and Data analysis

Slovenia: questionnairedescriptive statistical analysis and machine learning

Hungary: questionnairedescriptive statistical analysis and content analysis of open-ended questions

Slovakia: face-to-face interviews content analysis

Czech Republic: face-to-face interviews discourse analysis

Comparative report: meta-analysis of national reports (content analysis)

19 April 2023

23General Findings

Lack of information among all stakeholdersmore information about European than national levels lack of cooperation among relevant stakeholders the more info. there is, the more sensitivity there is

Ambivalence about gender equality in Scienceperceived as EU driven, top down activityrefusal of top-down activities aimed at group protection

Natural order and women’s handicaptendency toward naturalised and division of gender roles and activitieswork-life balance the only source of disadvantage recognised (closely linked to the perception of women’s and men’s roles)

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24Findings - Policy makers

Lack of information

gender equality, a luxury we cannot afford

Poor cooperation between relevant national bodies

Gap between EU and national levels

Politically correct language

Situation considered neither bad nor good

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25Findings - Researchers

No systematic informationGender equality overshadowed by other, more “pressing” issues (funding, brain drain, situation of young people)Science is about quality and results, not political influenceThe more information, the more critical of the situationAcceptance of the work-life balance issue in terms of the biological handicapRefusal of quotas and affirmative action

19 April 2023

26Findings - Media

Science communicated as expertise where no political influence plays a role

Problematic is “translation” of research results to the public

Lack of info. on successful life stories of scientists

Most have no info about gender equality issues in R&D

Women’s natural handicap given by their motherhood

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27Recommendations

Generation and dissemination of information

Gender research on knowledge production

Re-conceptualising and promoting ‘harmonisation’ measures (work-life balance)

Clear support of gender equality at EU level

Promote gender mainstreaming and policy coordination in national policy and strategic documents

Establish national support infrastructure for gender equality in R&D