Time allocation between work and family over the life-cycle : a comparative gender analysis of Italy, France, Sweden and the United States
Titelübersetzung:Zeitverwendung für Beruf und Familie im Lebenslauf : eine geschlechtervergleichende Analyse für Italien, Frankreich, Schweden und die Vereinigten Staaten
Quelle: Bonn (Discussion Paper / Forschungsinstitut zur Zukunft der Arbeit GmbH, No. 3193), 2007. 38 S.
Inhalt: "This article analyses the extent to which changes in household composition over the life course affect the gender division of labour. It identifies and analyses cross-country disparities between France, Italy, Sweden and United States, using most recent data available from the Time Use National Surveys. We focus on gender differences in the allocation of time between market work, domestic work and leisure over the life-cycle. In order to map the life-cycle, we distinguish between nine key cross-country comparable life stages according to age and family structure such as exiting parental home, union formation, parenthood, and retiring from work. By using appropriate regression techniques (Tobit with selection, Tobit and OLS), we show large discrepancies in the gender division of labour at the different life stages. This gender gap exists in all countries at any stage of the life course, but is usually smaller at the two ends of the age distribution, and larger with parenthood. Beyond social norms, the impact of parenthood on time allocation varies across countries, being smaller in those where work-family balance policies are more effective and traditionally well-established." (author's abstract)
Backlash in Gender Equality and Women’s and Girls’ Rights : Women's Rights and Gender Equality - Study Requested by the FEMM committee
Autor/in:
Juhász, Borbála; Pap, Enikő
Quelle: European Parliament; , 2018.
Inhalt: BACKGROUND AND AIMS
The aim and focus of the present analysis is to map the backlash in gender equality and women’s rights in the recent years of the present decade in selected EU member states: Austria, Hungary, Italy, Poland, Romania, and Slovakia. These countries were selected taking into account Opinions, all Initiative reports or the Delegations that the FEMM Committee has programmed in the course of 2018.
The analysis aims to identify and describe areas, measures and initiatives that have increased risks or have put women and girls in a more disadvantageous position, decreased the protection of women's rights, as well as eroded their established entitlements, or which have blocked related progress.
The report does not provide a comprehensive and in-depth overview and assessment of the situation of women in the countries concerned, or of state performance and the institutional, legislative and policy framework in gender equality and women’s rights. It seeks to introduce the basics of that framework, and to describe those areas, policy fields and issues that are revealed to have been mostly affected by the backlash and by movement in a negative direction. In this context, the study also reflects on some missed opportunities where progress has not happened despite the potential for this, as well as reflects on new problems that have arisen in recent years.
The analysis is based on desk research and a literature review, as well as interviews made with – and other contributions provided by – national experts in the relevant countries.
Womens choices in Europe : influence of gender on education, occupational career and family development
Titelübersetzung:Die Entscheidung von Frauen in Europa : Einfluss des Geschlechts auf Bildung, Berufskarriere und Familienentwicklung
Herausgeber/in:
Quaiser-Pohl, Claudia; Endepohls-Ulpe, Martina
Quelle: Münster: Waxmann, 2012. 223 S.
Inhalt: "The options women have to shape their lives have dramatically increased in the last decades, and this is true for all European countries. Changes in their societies with respect to women's rights have been fundamental, amongst other things as a result of the women's movement, which caused one of the greatest social revolutions of the 20th centusy. But considering the different starting points of the women's movement and all the other historical, cultural and political differences in the European nations it is no surprise that the situation of women is different, too, and that the process of reaching equal status with men has come to different stages in different areas of life. And, of course, there are still some fields of remarkable gender inequalities which can be noticed all over Europe. This book wants to give some insight into the differences as well as the similarities of women's lives, their educational and occupational attainment and their choices with respect to occupational career and family life in several European countries. The authors come from different countries and represent different disciplines. Therefore the chapters cover a large variety of scientific approaches and draw a fine-grained picture of the situation of women's lives in Europe. " (publisher's description). Contents: Claudia Quaiser-Pohl & Martina Endepohls-Ulpe : Education, occupational career and family work - similarities and differences in women's choices in Europe (Editorial) (7-14); I Gender and education: Martina Endepohls-Ulpe: Are females or males disadvantaged in contemporary educational systems? (15-28); Christine Fontanini & Céine Avenel: Ongoing training systems in France with regard to gender: "teacher effects" at universities (29-40); Ewa Malinowska: The impact of gender knowledge on one's behaviour at a micro-social level - based on statements from learning adults (41-52); II Women's participation in STEM fields: Claudia Quaiser-Pohl: Women's choices in STEM - statistical data and theoretical approaches explaining the gender gap (53-62); Jacqueline de Weerd & Els Rommes: To beta or not to beta? The role of teachers in the gendered choice of science and technology by secondary school students (63-78); Martina Endepohls-Ulpe, Judith Ebach, Josef Seiter & Nora Kaul: Barriers and motivational factors for taking up a career in a technological field in Germany and Austria (79-94); Sonja Virtanen: Searching for ways to encourage and enable equal access for girls to study technology (95-106); III Women's occupational careers: Elisabeth Sander: Biographies of female scientists in Austria - results of an interview study (107-122); Christine Fontanini: Is there a relation between horse riding and the desire to become a veterinarian? (123-134); Gwen Elprana, Sibylle Stiehl, Magdalena Gatzka & Jörg Felfe: Gender differences in Motivation to Lead in Germany (135-150); Elmira Bancheva & Maria Ivanova: Leadership styles of women in Bulgaria (151-166); IV Women's roles in family life and family development: Anna-Catharina Grohmann, Claudia Quaiser-Pohl & Marcus Hasselhorn: Socio-cultural changes, values, and parental well-being - a comparison of Spanish and German mothers (167-182); Silke Diestelkamp & Claudia Quaiser-Pohl: Identity development after the birth of the first child - an empirical study of first-time mothers in the Republic of Ireland (183-198); Krystyna Dzwonkowska-Godula & Joanna Brzezinska: Gender relations in family - equal parenting (199-210); Insa Fooken: Tate divorces' in the lives of German women from three different birth cohorts - a lasting impact of World War II? (211-223).
CEWS Kategorie:Europa und Internationales, Berufsbiographie und Karriere, Vereinbarkeit Familie-Beruf
Dokumenttyp:Sammelwerk
Expected and unexpected consequences of the educational expansion in Europe and the US : theoretical approaches and empirical findings in comparative perspective
Titelübersetzung:Erwartete und unerwartete Folgen der Bildungsexpansion in Europa : theoretische Ansätze und empirische Ergebnisse in vergleichender Perspektive
Herausgeber/in:
Hadjar, Andreas; Becker, Rolf
Quelle: Bern: Haupt (Prisma : Beiträge zur Erziehungswissenschaft aus historischer, psychologischer und soziologischer Perspektive, Bd. 12), 2009. 424 S.
Inhalt: Content: Andreas Hadjar, Rolf Becker: Educational Expansion: Expected and Unexpected Consequences (9-26). Section I Social Inequality of Educational Opportunities - Karl Ulrich Mayer, Sebastian Schnettler, Silke Aisenbrey: The Process and Impacts of Educational Expansion: Findings from the German Life History Study (27-48); Marie Duru-Bellat: Educational Expansion and the Evolution of Inequalities of Opportunity in France (49-56); Laurence Coutrot, Annick Kieffer: Improved Opportunities and Increased Segregation: Underlying Tensions between Vocational and General Education in France (57-80); Carlo Barone: The Debate about Educational Expansion and Inequality of Educational Opportunity: An Illustration from the Case of Italy (81-96); Markus Lörz, Steffen Schindler: Educational Expansion and Effects on the Transition to Higher Education: Has the Effect of Social Background Characteristics Declined or just Moved to the Next Stage? (97-110); Marek Fuchs, Michaela Sixt: On the Sustainability of Educational Improvements: Social Heredity Transmission of Educational Success over Multiple Generations (111-122); Justin J.W. Powell: The Expansion of Special Education in the United States and Germany (123-132); Natalie Simonová, Petr Soukup: Reproduction of Educational Inequality in the Czech Republic after the Velvet Revolution in the European Context (133-152); Piotr Mikiewicz, Jaroslaw Domalewski, Krzysztof Wasielewski: The 'Trajectorisation' of Educational Biographies as an Unintentional Outcome of Educational Expansion in Poland (153-166). Section II Returns: Income, Labour Market, School-to-Work Transition - Barry Cooper, Judith Glaesser: Educational Expansion and Meritocracy in Britain: A Boolean Analysis (167-178); Marina Shapira: Trends in the Impact of Post-Compulsory Educational Qualifications and Experience on the Occupational Attainments of Young People in England and Scotland, 1986-2001 (179-200); Péter Róbert: The Consequences of Educational Expansion for Returns to Education in Hungary (201-212); Malcolm Brynin, Simonetta Longhi: The Employment Effects of the Expansion of Higher Education (213-232); Beate Lichtwardt: The Changing Value of Qualifications in Great Britain and West Germany (233-260); Michael Gebel: Wage Effects of Education: The Impact of Educational Expansion in Germany (261-270); Alexander Tarvenkorn, Wolfgang Lauterbach: Devaluation or Revaluation of Educational Qualifications on the Labour Market? An Analysis of the last 20 Years (271-282); Claudia Schuchart: School Education and Occupational Chances: Do the Characteristics of the Educational System Matter? (283-298); Andrea Kottmann, Jürgen Enders: Risky and Decoupled? The Consequences of Educational Expansion for the Occupational Life Course and Career Success of German PhD-Holders (299-314). Section III Gender Issues - Leire Salazar: Is Increased Earnings Inequality an Unexpected Consequence of Educational Expansion? (315-326); Corinna Kleinert, Britta Matthes: Educational Expansion, Segregation and Occupational Placement of Women and Men: Gender-Specific Changes in Prestige and Wages of Entry Jobs (327-348). Section IV Cultural Consequences - Dirk Baier, Christian Branig: Educational Expansion and Delinquency (349-360); Annette Spellerberg: Education and Lifestyles: A Weakening Tie? (361-376); Rainer Unger, Alexander Schulze, Thomas Klein: Educational Expansion and Life Expectancy in Germany (377ff.).
Inhalt: This volume documents the life uncertainties revealed by migrants’ biographies. For international migrants, life journeys are less conventional or patterned, while their family, work, and educational trajectories are simultaneously more fragmented and intermingled. The authors discuss the challenges faced by migrants and returnees when trying to make sense of their life courses after years of experience in other countries with different age norms and cultural values. The book also examines the ways to reconcile competing cultural expectations of both origin and destination societies regarding the timing of transitions between roles to provide a meaningful account of their life courses. Migration is, itself, a major life event, with profound implications for the pursuit of migrants’ life goals, organization of family life, and personal networks, and it can affect, to a considerable degree, their subjective well-being.
Chapter 9 is available open access under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License via link.springer.com.
CEWS Kategorie:Arbeitswelt und Arbeitsmarkt, Berufsbiographie und Karriere, Europa und Internationales, Migration und Migrantinnen
Dokumenttyp:Sammelwerk
Frauen und Männer in Bildungsgängen des Tertiärbereichs
Titelübersetzung:Women and men in tertiary education
Autor/in:
Dunne, Mary
Quelle: Statistisches Amt -EUROSTAT-, Europäische Kommission; Luxembourg (Statistik kurz gefasst : Bevölkerung und soziale Bedingungen, 18), 2001. 7 S.
Inhalt: "In den meisten EU-Mitgliedstaaten ist die Anzahl der in Bildungsgängen des Tertiärbereichs studierenden Frauen höher als die der Männer. Aus den aktuellen Daten (für 1998-99) geht hervor, dass in 12 der 15 Mitgliedstaaten mehr Frauen als Männer an Hochschulen eingeschrieben sind; bei den Absolventen ist der Frauenanteil sogar noch größer. Außerdem steigt die Zahl der Frauen mit Hochschulabschluss EU-weit schneller als die ihrer männlichen Kollegen. In den naturwissenschaftlichen und technischen Fächern sind jedoch weiterhin deutlich weniger Frauen als Männer eingeschrieben, und auch in Aufbaustudiengängen sind Frauen nach wie vor unterrepräsentiert. Ein ähnliches Bild ergibt sich bei der Unterscheidung nach eher praktisch orientierten/ fachlichen/ berufsspezifischen Bildungsgängen (Typ B) und nach theoretisch orientierten/ auf Forschung vorbereitenden Bildungsgängen bzw. Bildungsgängen, die Zugang zu Berufen mit hohen Qualifikationsanforderungen eröffnet (Typ A): Im Typ B ist der Frauenanteil größer als im Typ A." (Textauszug)
Inhalt: "More women than men are being educated to tertiary level in most EU member states. According to the latest data (for 1998-99), women represent the majority of those enrolled in university or equivalent programmes in 12 of the 15 countries and account for an even larger proportion of those graduating. Moreover, the number of women with tertiary level education seems to be increasing faster than that of men throughout the Union. Nevertheless, there are still far fewer women than men enrolled in science and technology subject areas and women are significantly less likely to go on to postgraduate study. Equally, a larger proportion of women than men tend to participate in more practical/ technical/ occupationally-specific programmes (Type B) as opposed to more theoretically-based/ research preparatory ones or programmes giving access to professions with high skill requirements (Type A)." (excerpt)
Schlagwörter:Student; internationaler Vergleich; Absolvent; Studienfach; Geschlechterverteilung; EU; Europa
CEWS Kategorie:Bildung und Erziehung, Europa und Internationales, Hochschulen, Geschlechterverhältnis
Key data on higher education in Europe : 2007 edition
Titelübersetzung:Schlüsselzahlen zur Hochschulbildung in Europa : Ausgabe 2007
Herausgeber/in:
Generaldirektion Bildung und Kultur, Europäische Kommission; EURYDICE - the information network on education in Europe; Statistisches Amt -EUROSTAT-, Europäische Kommission
Quelle: Generaldirektion Bildung und Kultur, Europäische Kommission; EURYDICE - the information network on education in Europe; Statistisches Amt -EUROSTAT-, Europäische Kommission; Brüssel: Amt f. amtl. Veröff. d. Europ. Gemeinschaften, 2007. 245 S.
Inhalt: Der Bereich der akademischen Bildung unterliegt in der gesamten EU einem Reformprozess, der bis zum Jahre 2010 abgeschlossen sein soll. Eine erstklassige Ausbildung ist der beste Weg, allen Bürgern die Möglichkeit der Integration und effektiven Teilhabe am gesellschaftlichen und beruflichen Leben zu ermöglichen. Die EU verfolgt daher das Ziel, die sozioökonomischen Faktoren, die noch den Zugang zu akademischer Bildung behindern, abzubauen. Der erste Bericht auf der Basis von Daten des Netzwerks Eurydice und des von Eurostat koordinierten European Statistical System (ESS) liefert nach quantitativen und qualitativen Indikatoren gegliederte und damit vergleichbare Informationen zum Stand der akademischen Bildung in der EU. Gegenstand des Berichts sind u.a. folgende Themen: die Höhe der öffentlichen und privaten Investitionen im Hochschulwesen, die Höhe der Studienbeiträge und Formen der Ausbildungsförderung, die Verteilung der Absolventen von Studiengängen im Hochschulbereich nach Alter und Geschlecht auf die einzelnen Studienrichtungen und Studiengänge, die Unterschiede beim Bildungszugang und Hochschulabschlüssen nach Geschlechtern, die Zulassungsbedingungen für verschiedenen Studienzweige im Hochschulbereich, die Verteilung der Studierenden auf das öffentliche und private Hochschulwesen, die internationale Mobilität von Studierenden und die Förderung dieser Form der Mobilität, die Struktur des Bildungspersonals und die Situation der Doktoranden. (IAB)
Quelle: RES (Revista Española de Sociología), 27 (2018) 3, S 434-449
Inhalt: Nowadays gender-based violence has not only grown but it has become increasingly evident in gender stereotypes upheld by younger people. Universal education is necessary to eradicate these stereotypes in university classrooms. The aim of this work is to find if a relationship exists between sexism and the choice of degree among university students, and if this relates to national culture. We applied the Ambivalent Sexism Inventory (Expósito, Moya and Glick, 1998 and the Dating Violence Questionnaire by Rodríguez-Franco et al., 2007) to 1,196 university students. The results show that there is a relationship between sexism and the student’s choice of degree course and, particularly, that there is more sexism in technical degrees than in humanities degrees. The cultural ideology is similar between Mexico and Catalonia and only varies in its intensity. It concludes that gender equality education is urgently needed as a general course in technical degrees.
Inhalt: Geschlechtsspezifische Ungleichheiten machen sich in allen Bereichen des Wirtschaftslebens bemerkbar und bedeuten sowohl für die betroffenen Personen als auch für die Volkswirtschaft insgesamt hohe Verluste in Form von entgangener Produktivität und niedrigeren Lebensstandards. Dieser neue OECD-Bericht befasst sich mit Lösungsansätzen zur Beseitigung dieser geschlechtsspezifischen Ungleichheiten unter folgenden thematischen Gesichtspunkten: Geschlechtergleichstellung, soziale Normen und öffentliche Politik sowie Geschlechtergleichstellung in Bildung, Berufsleben und Unternehmertum.
Die Kernaussagen lauten:
● Die Verbesserung der Geschlechtergleichheit beim Bildungsniveau hat einen stark positiven Effekt auf das Wirtschaftswachstum.
● Geschlechterstereotypen muss schon im jungen Alter bei den Bildungsentscheidungen in der Schule entgegengewirkt werden. So sollten beispielsweise Unterrichtsmethoden und -materialien angepasst werden, um Jungen stärker für das Lesen und Mädchen stärker für Mathematik und Naturwissenschaften zu begeistern; Mädchen sollten ermutigt werden, verstärkt naturwissenschaftliche, ingenieurwissenschaftliche und mathematische Studienfächer zu wählen und eine Berufstätigkeit in diesen Bereichen anzustreben.
● Gute und bezahlbare Kinderbetreuung ist ein ausschlaggebender Faktor für die Verbesserung der Geschlechtergleichstellung im Berufsleben. Veränderungen sind jedoch auch im familiären Kontext notwendig, da der überwiegende Teil der Hausarbeit und Kindererziehung in vielen Ländern immer noch von den Frauen geleistet wird. Diese Veränderungen können von der Politik unterstützt werden, beispielsweise durch Elternurlaubsregelungen, die Väter explizit einschließen.
● Fördermaßnahmen für Unternehmen in Frauenbesitz müssen auf alle Unternehmen, nicht nur auf Neugründungen und Kleinbetriebe, ausgerichtet werden. Es muss ein gleichberechtigter Zugang zu Finanzierungsmitteln für männliche und weibliche Unternehmer gewährleistet werden.
Grounds for concern: an Australian perspective on responses to sexual assault and harassment in university settings
Autor/in:
Durbach, Andrea; Grey, Rosemary
Quelle: Gender based violence in university communities. Sundari Anitha (Hrsg.), Ruth Lewis (Hrsg.). Bristol: Policy Press.. 2018, S 83–104
Inhalt: This chapter examines the limited attention given to prevention within Australian policy responses to sexual assault and harassment in university settings. It draws on the findings of Change the Course: National Report on Sexual Assault and Sexual Harassment at Australian Universities , released by the Australian Human Rights Commission in 2017. The chapter first describes the historical and political context for the survey, which was initiated in response to the problem of sexual violence in Australian campuses. It then considers the initial steps taken following the release of the survey with the goal of strengthening Australian university responses to sexual harassment and assault. It also discusses recent developments from universities with regard to the problem of sexual violence and some of the key challenges that need to be addressed. Finally, it suggests a long-term approach to address sexual assault and harassment that shifts the focus from risk management to harm prevention.
Schlagwörter:sexual harassment; sexual violence; sexuelle Belästigung; sexuelle Gewalt; Australia, Australien
CEWS Kategorie:Europa und Internationales, Hochschulen, Sexuelle Belästigung und Gewalt
Dokumenttyp:Sammelwerksbeitrag
EFFORTI -Deliverable 4.4 Collection of good practices and lessons learned
Quelle: Evaluation Framework for Promoting Gender Equality in R&I; https://www.efforti.eu/sites/default/files/2019-11/D4.4%20Good%20Practices%20Final.pdf, 2019.
Inhalt: This report concentrates on an in-depth presentation of the major steps of creating the impact stories. In the course of this project, 18 impact stories were compiled.
The practice and perceptions of RRI-A gender perspective
Autor/in:
Bührer, Susanne; Wroblewski, Angela
Quelle: Evaluation and program planning, 77 (2019)
Inhalt: Little is known to date about the practice and perceptions of RRI among researchers in Europe as well as the integration of the gender dimension into everyday RRI practices. This lack was addressed by two large-scale surveys that were launched in the course of the EU-funded MoRRI project (Monitoring the evolution and benefits of RRI, Contract number RTD-B6-PP-00964-2013, Duration 09/2013-03/2018). The analysis shows that the institutional environment positively influences the degree of RRI activities and the general attitudes towards more responsible research and innovation: researchers working in an institutional environment that systematically supports the practice of RRI are more active in RRI practices than researchers who do not rely on such structures. For the gender equality dimension, this means that institutions with a gender equality plan (GEP) in place are more inclined to support female researchers than institutions without such institutional incentives. Furthermore, researchers with experiences in EU-funded projects are more likely to be engaged in RRI activities. Even if female researchers have a stronger inclination to engage with society than their male counterparts, gender competence proves to be the relevant distinguishing criterion. Gender competent researchers are more often involved in other RRI activities.
Schlagwörter:European research and innovation policy; Forschungspolitik; Gender competence; gender equality; Genderkompetenz; Gleichstellungspolitik; Governance; responsible research and innovation
CEWS Kategorie:Europa und Internationales, Gleichstellungspolitik
Violence and harassment in the world of work: A guide on Convention No. 190 and Recommendation No. 206
Herausgeber/in:
International Labour Organization
Quelle: International Labour Organization; Geneva, 2021.
Inhalt: Adopted on 21 June 2019, the Violence and Harassment Convention (No. 190) and Recommendation (No. 206), 2019, are the most recent additions to the realm of international labour law. With their adoption, the right of everyone to a world of work free from violence and harassment has been clearly spelled out in international law, along with States’ obligation to respect, promote and realize this right. These instruments represent a piece of paramount importance towards the achievement of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, particularly Sustainable Development Goals 5 (gender equality) and 8 (decent work and economic growth).
Convention No. 190 brings together equality and non-discrimination with safety and health at work
in one instrument, and places human dignity and respect at its core. The Convention recognizes that
violence and harassment can constitute a human rights violation or abuse, and provides, for the first
time, a single composite concept of violence and harassment (Art. 1) 5. The Convention requires
Member States to adopt an inclusive, integrated and gender-responsive approach to prevent and
address such behaviours in the world of work (Art. 4(2)). This approach envisages action on prevention,
protection, enforcement, remedies, guidance, training and awareness raising (Arts 4, 7–11), and takes into
account third parties as both victims and perpetrators. In adopting this approach, Convention No. 190
requires States to recognize the different and complementary roles and functions of governments,
employers and workers, and their respective organizations, taking into account the varying nature
and extent of their respective responsibilities (Arts 4(3) and 9).
The Convention has a broad personal scope of protection (Article 2) and seeks to address violence
and harassment that occurs “in the course of, linked with or arising out of work”, both in the
formal and informal economy, and whether in the private or public sector (Article 3). The Convention
has a strong focus on inclusivity (Arts 2 and 6) as well as accessibility (Arts 4(2), 9(d), 11(b)), and
acknowledges that some groups and workers in certain sectors, occupations and work arrangements are
especially vulnerable to violence and harassment (Arts 6 and 8). It embeds a strong gender-responsive
perspective with a view to tackling root causes of discriminatory forms of violence and harassment.
Convention No. 190 and Recommendation No. 206 reaffirm the ILO’s crucial standard-setting role. They
are tangible evidence of the enduring value and strength of social dialogue among governments,
employers’ representatives and workers’ representatives, and that social dialogue and tripartism
are essential to implementing these standards at the national level.
Quelle: ASDO - Assemblea delle Donne per lo Sviluppo e la Lotta all’Esclusione Sociale (Italy); STAGES project; Rome, 2015.
Inhalt: The General Approach of the Project The STAGES project was designed on the basis of three general approaches, which informed the way the Action Plans were built and the kind of measures which were included.
The first approach involves integrating different strategies comprehensively aimed at inducing structural change processes, i.e.:
- making research institutions an enabling environment for women’s progress and working lives (including support to work-life balance and early-career phases);
- promoting the sex and gender dimensions in the image of science, in science education and in the very process of research and innovation;
- promoting women in different kinds of scientific leadership positions.
The second approach concerns negotiating with internal stakeholders, each time addressing the most relevant (different leaderships, administrative staff, researchers, students, the public at large). The actions considered were aimed at negotiating change at four levels:
- the interpretive level (i.e., raising awareness of gender arrangements within the organisation and of the relevance of the issue, so as to negotiate a common understanding of the problems to be addressed);
- the symbolic level (i.e., redressing the masculine symbolism of science, so as to support women scientists’ visibility and remove stereotyped images of women scientists and science itself);
- the institutional level (i.e., negotiating change in the “rules of the game”, so as to modify the overt or hidden structures of women’s discrimination);
- the operational level (i.e., negotiating to translate good will, declarations or decisions into actual actions in a reasonable time).
The third approach focuses on the dynamics of change and it entails the design of inclusive implementation teams and the identification of actual or potential “transformational players” within and outside the organisation to act as catalysts for change. From this perspective, the teams would engage a growing number of relevant stakeholders and to build alliances with other active groups so to take advantage of their supportive attitudes.
Features and targets of the Guidelines
Guidelines for implementation
After more than fifteen years since the first European Commission’s policy efforts on the gender-and-science issue (not to speak of North American experiences), many guidelines, recommendations and policy documents now exist about how to promote gender equality in scientific institutions, addressing different aspects of the problem and targeting policy-makers at different levels. These tools (see for instance: European Commission, 2012; genSET, 2010; National Academy of Science, 2006; LERU, 2012; PRAGES, 2009; Royal Society of Edinburgh, 2012), which include the contributions of European and international experts and scholars, present principles and lines of action that can potentially be applied in any organisational context and represent the indispensable knowledge base and starting point for any effort oriented to gender equality in scientific institutions.
At the same time, a growing body of empirical knowledge is being accumulated deriving from the direct practice of programmes which, like STAGES, have been launched in many universities and research institutes across Europe (see for instance: Genova, De Micheli, Zucco, Grasso and Magri, 2014).
The STAGES Guidelines aim to contribute to this process of deriving new insights about the actual implementation process of gender equality-oriented projects in scientific institutions. For this reason this document does not have the ambition of presenting a new original set of principles and recommendations on the necessary components of a gender equality programme, but focuses on the know-how which was gained in the implementation of the STAGES Action Plans. Therefore, the focus is on implementation strategies, through the presentation of the different solutions envisaged by the partners to achieve their objectives.
As a consequence, the Guidelines presented here, practice-based as they are, can be somewhat unsystematic, in that they only contain elements which emerged from the implementation of the five Action Plans, with no claim to be exhaustive. On the other hand, they have the advantage of looking in depth at implementation issues based on experience in five different organisational settings, so that the reader is more likely to find resonance with the situation at her/his institution with its particular implementation challenges and dynamics.
A specific target The STAGES Guidelines are aimed at people working in a scientific organisation who, be it in the framework of a funded project or independently, are willing to launch a programme for gender equality.
They can be leaders at different levels of the organisation or they can just be part of it. As it clearly emerges from the STAGES experience, they will have to build in any case a strong set of alliances, both with leaders and with researchers and staff, before starting to design and implement the programme, as no top-down or bottom-up effort alone is sufficient to trigger the complex change process which is needed to make a significant impact.
This does not mean of course that these Guidelines are not relevant to decision-makers outside universities and research institutions. They can in fact be inspirational for policies both at national and at European level.
Schlagwörter:action plan; Monitoring; policy making; research organization
CEWS Kategorie:Europa und Internationales, Wissenschaftspolitik