February 9, 2025

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Wanted: more women in science and technology – Information Centre – Research & Innovation

Across the EU, women of all ages account for just thirteen % of the facts science technology and electronic workforce. In a bid to increase the gender harmony, EU undertaking Equivalent-IST has created applications to enhance feminine inclusion in college research occupations throughout the sector.


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© Naufal #317011810 resource: inventory.adobe.com 2020

In the course of the EU, not adequate women of all ages are captivated to occupations in facts, science and technology. When women of all ages are better represented at college stage – much more than twenty five % of graduates are feminine – as occupations progress, the proportion of women of all ages in the facts science technology (IST) and electronic workforce drops to just thirteen %.

Looking to establish the sustainable, extended-time period inclusion of women of all ages in the IST sector, the EU-funded undertaking Equivalent-IST explored why there are such superior concentrations of gender imbalance in the IST research sector, and what can be accomplished to increase this, commencing at the college stage.

‘Women are however the minority, primarily amongst academic leaders, and the deficiency of women of all ages in IST occupations has unfavorable repercussions on the prospective for innovation and the mobilisation of human capital. We need to foster long term inclusion,’ says Vasiliki Moumtzi, co-founder of ViLabs and Equivalent-IST undertaking coordinator.

Finding a better harmony

Beginning out in 2016, Equivalent-IST worked with universities in Italy, Finland, Germany, Ukraine, Lithuania and Portugal. With the support of Maria Sangiuliano, a gender equality qualified from the College Ca’ Foscari in Venice, the undertaking identified the hurdles to acquiring a better male-to-feminine harmony in every single of the lover universities.

Complications identified throughout the universities involved a deficiency of women of all ages in selection-producing positions on college governance boards and inadequate childcare facilities for lecturers with children. One more barrier was rigid performing schedules for lecturers preventing them from fitting function all-around their parenting duties.

A more problem identified in Ukraine was a deficiency of awareness about how to solve the gender imbalance challenge. Despite the fact that college students and lecturers were knowledgeable of gender inequality, they did not know that actions could be taken to increase the gender harmony.

Improved inclusion

Equivalent-IST created a toolkit made to empower a bigger amount of feminine researchers, lecturers and college students to be involved in the college atmosphere. The applications contain boosting feminine participation on college boards and in selection-producing positions, and the implementation of versatile lecture schedules – for example, allowing for lecturers to choose no matter whether they keep lectures in the mornings, afternoons or evenings to go well with their function-lifetime requirements.

The toolkit also says intervals of element-time function should be encouraged, childcare facilities should be obtainable on-site, options to postpone tests according to the individual’s requirements should exist, and task sharing should be promoted. A gender equality committee should also be appointed to define the ways to increase the gender harmony as well as watch progress in the college. In accordance to Equivalent-IST, all these measures should be accompanied by a campaign to raise awareness of the new initiatives.

Through its research, Equivalent-IST discovered that the College of Bern in Switzerland has superb function-lifetime harmony procedures and could be regarded as a great example to comply with. Its procedures contain covering childcare charges so that researchers can show up at conferences and conferences breastfeeding and rest rooms modifying tables in bogs superior chairs in the cafeteria and quick entry to structures for pushchairs and wheelchairs. What’s more, the college has signed a ‘family at the university’ constitution to enshrine its function-lifetime harmony rules.

The undertaking also created a new online system that enables the two males and women of all ages in the electronic and IST research area to communicate on troubles they confront and talk about gender equality in their institutions in an inclusive group.

‘Our function has well prepared the ground for a potential rise in feminine participation in IST occupations. Gender equality will arrive steadily if the right structures are in area,’ Moumtzi concludes.