Arnis Kokorevics

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The Possible Ways of Mainstreaming Women in
Science The Policy of EU institutions

• Arnis Kokorevics
• Latvian Researchers Mobility Centre

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Milestones (1)

• 2000 - The Lisbon Strategyup to 700 000 new
  researchers in all sectors,
• 2000 - The European Research Area (ERA)the
  sustainable European labour market for
  researchers,
• 2001 - The ERA Researchers Career and Mobility
  Strategy the European dimension to scientific
  career a favourable environment to attract,
  develop and retain the human resources in
  research and innovation.

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The problem regarding human resources - possible
solutions

• enchaining of 3rd country researchers to work in
  research centres within ERA
• facilitate of returning of the researchers' to
  ERA (mainly from USA)
• make a profession of researcher more attractive
  for young people, the attracting of university
  graduates
• strengthen the participation of women researchers
  by helping to create the necessary conditions
  for more sustainable and appealing careers for
  them in RD
• promote researchers mobility, overcome
  administrative and legal obstacles to
  geographical and intersectoral mobility.

4
Present situation EU-27 and selected
countries 2004 Percentage of female
researchers - all sectors,- business enterprise
sector, (EUROSTAT data, 2008)
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(EUROSTAT data, 2008)
In 2006, the gender ratio in Germany, Luxembourg
and the United Kingdom was around four male
scientists or engineers to one female. (EUROSTAT
data, 2008).
Women account for a minority of the worlds
researchers. This is particularly the case in
higher-income countries. A more gender-balanced
workforce is found in Eastern Europe and the CIS,
Latin America and the Caribbean, as well as some
South East Asian countries. Source UNESCO
Institute for Statistics (UIS), 2006
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NMP - Nanotechnologies and nanosciences,
knowledge-based multifunctional materials, and
new production processes and devices (EC, 2008)
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Milestones (2)

• Commission Recommendation of 11 March 2005 on the
  European Charter for Researchers and on a Code of
  Conduct for the Recruitment of Researchers
• The political goal is to contribute to the
  development of an attractive, open and
  sustainable European labour market for
  researchers, where the framework conditions allow
  for recruiting and retaining high quality
  researchers in environments conducive to
  effective performance and productivity.
• Close link between career and mobility.

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• Therefore proposed approach see gender equality
  in research and innovation spheres rather
  as economical category - optimal utilization of
  workforce and propose to make these spheres more
  attractive for potential groups of educated and
  highly skilled professionals,
• but not directly as protection of the
  human rights and preventing of
  indiscrimination.
• But both approaches are not opposite, but rather
  are complementary to each other !
• Similar approach regarding to promotion of
  researchers career and mobility will be apply
  also concerning to other groups, which
• - are worry about adequate evaluation of its work
  results within career evaluation/appraisal
  systems and therefore also about its career
  development - have problems to work within
  classical working schedulefull staff, full
  day at definite working place, ...parents,
  double career couples, peoples with disabilities
  ... .

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The aims (and main dilemma !!!)

• Non-discrimination
• Employers and/or funders of researchers will not
  discriminate against researchers in any way on
  the basis of gender, age, ethnic, national or
  social origin, religion or belief, sexual
  orientation, language, disability, political
  opinion, social or economic condition.
• Gender balance
• Employers and/or funders should aim for a
  representative gender balance at all levels of
  staff, including at supervisory and managerial
  level. This should be achieved on the basis of an
  equal opportunity policy at recruitment and at
  the subsequent career stages without, however,
  taking precedence over quality and competence
  criteria. To ensure equal treatment, selection
  and evaluation committees should have an adequate
  gender balance.

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Solutions (Exhaustive or particular ???) (1)

• Working conditions
• Employers and/or funders should ensure that the
  working conditions ...- provide where
  appropriate the flexibility deemed essential for
  successful research performance, - to provide
  working conditions which allow both women and men
  researchers to combine family and work, children
  and career, - particular attention should be
  paid, inter alia, to flexible working hours,
  part-time working, tele-working and sabbatical
  leave ...
• Career development
• ... should draw up ... a specific career
  development strategy for researchers at all
  stages of their career, regardless of their
  contractual situation, including for researchers
  on fixed-term contracts.

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Solutions (Exhaustive or particular ???) (2)

• Value of mobility
• ... must recognize the value of all kinds of
  mobility as an important means of enhancing
  scientific knowledge and professional development
  at any stage of a researchers career. ... should
  build such options into ... career
  progression/appraisal system.
• Evaluation/appraisal systems
• Such evaluation and appraisal procedures should
  take due account of their overall research
  creativity and research results, e.g.
  publications, patents, management of research,
  teaching/lecturing, supervision, mentoring,
  national or international collaboration,
  administrative duties, public awareness
  activities and mobility, and should be taken into
  consideration in the context of career
  progression.
• (take into accout all roles of researchers
  in modern society)

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Solutions (Exhaustive or particular ???) (3)

• Judging merit
• .. focusing on outstanding results within a
  diversified career path and not only on the
  number of publications. ... bibliometric indices
  should be properly balanced within a wider range
  of evaluation criteria, such as teaching,
  supervision, teamwork, knowledge transfer,
  management of research and innovation and public
  awareness activities
• Variations in the chronological order of CVs
• Career breaks or variations in the chronological
  order of CVs should not be penalised, but
  regarded as an evolution of a career, and
  consequently, as a potentially valuable
  contribution to the professional development of
  researchers towards a multidimensional career
  track.

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Conclusions

• At present moment there are not a ready-to-use
  recipes or formulas to mainstreaming women or
  provide gender equality in science both in Latvia
  or in EU, ERA or global scale
• There are rather recognition of obstacles and
  starting point for discussions in scientific
  community, for discussion between stakeholders
  and with public authorities
• The main conclusions Science need women
• and it will basis to gender
  equality.

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Thank You for Attention !
Arnis Kokorevics Latvian Researchers Mobility
Centre, Latvian State Institute of Wood
Chemistry 27 Dzerbenes str., Riga, LV1006,
Latvia E-mail arnis_at_eracareers.lv , Tel.
371-67553591

• The presentation has been prepapared within
  project RESMOB-LATVIA.
• The project RESMOB-LATVIA operate based on the
  financial support received from the European
  Communitys Sixth Framework Programme and the
  Latvian Ministry of Education and Science.