Inhalt: 
"Gate-keepers and gate-keeping are a hitherto neglected but pivotal topic in studies
of gendered patterns of science and academia. Merton (1973) called the gate-keeper
the 'fourth major role' of a scientist, in addition to that of a researcher, teacher
and administrator, affecting contemporary science in every aspect. Gate-keepers are
undoubtedly in a key position to influence the definition, evaluation and development
of scientific excellence. More generally, gate-keeping processes can aim to control
or influence the entry or access to a particular arena, allocation of resources and
information flows, the setting of standards, development of the field and the agenda,
or the external image of that arena. Gate-keeping can function as exclusion and control,
on the one hand but, on the other hand, it can also facilitate and provide opportunities
and resources. Women are particularly under-represented among academic gate-keepers
and leading positions in science and science policy organisations. According to the
ETAN Report (2000), to a large extent, the gate-keepers of research funding in Europe
comprise middle-aged male academics. Such male domination also applies to countries
such as Finland, despite the fact that the proportion of women among professors in
Finland is the highest in the EU (21% in 2002). Finnish National Research Councils
are, however, approaching gender parity, having had to follow the quota paragraph
of the Gender Equality Act since 1995. Despite this, only 16% of the referees the
RCs used in their funding decisions were women in 1999, as were only 14% of the board
members of the largest Finnish research funding foundations. The paper presents ongoing
research focusing on gender and gate-keeping in academia in relation to one key academic
arena: research funding, which is analysed by studying both organisational and individual
gate-keepers and their policies and practices. Gate-keepers refer here both to fund-awarding
organisations as collective gate-keepers of research funding and to individuals who
are involved in decision-making bodies of such key fund-awarding organisations." (author's
abstract)|