[{"command":"openDialog","selector":"#drupal-modal","settings":null,"data":"\u003Cdiv id=\u0022republish_modal_form\u0022\u003E\u003Cform class=\u0022modal-form-example-modal-form ecl-form\u0022 data-drupal-selector=\u0022modal-form-example-modal-form\u0022 action=\u0022\/en\/article\/modal\/5867\u0022 method=\u0022post\u0022 id=\u0022modal-form-example-modal-form\u0022 accept-charset=\u0022UTF-8\u0022\u003E\u003Cp\u003EHorizon articles can be republished for free under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) licence.\u003C\/p\u003E\n \u003Cp\u003EYou must give appropriate credit. We ask you to do this by:\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n 1) Using the original journalist\u0027s byline\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n 2) Linking back to our original story\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n 3) Using the following text in the footer: This article was originally published in \u003Ca href=\u0027#\u0027\u003EHorizon, the EU Research and Innovation magazine\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\n \u003Cp\u003ESee our full republication guidelines \u003Ca href=\u0027\/horizon-magazine\/republish-our-stories\u0027\u003Ehere\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\n \u003Cp\u003EHTML for this article, including the attribution and page view counter, is below:\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\u0022js-form-item form-item js-form-type-textarea form-item-body-content js-form-item-body-content ecl-form-group ecl-form-group--text-area form-no-label ecl-u-mv-m\u0022\u003E\n \n\u003Cdiv\u003E\n \u003Ctextarea data-drupal-selector=\u0022edit-body-content\u0022 aria-describedby=\u0022edit-body-content--description\u0022 id=\u0022edit-body-content\u0022 name=\u0022body_content\u0022 rows=\u00225\u0022 cols=\u002260\u0022 class=\u0022form-textarea ecl-text-area\u0022\u003E\u003Ch2\u003EQualified women still opting out of career in science, says study\u003C\/h2\u003E\u003Cp\u003EA research study into why fewer female graduates pursue or stay on in science research posts than their male counterparts suggests that the discrepancy is a result of \u2018subtle discrimination and role conflict\u2019.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EGENDERA, a research project supported by the European Union\u2019s Seventh Framework Programme (FP7), set up task forces in nine countries in 2010 to analyse over two years the gender make-up of universities, research institutes, national academies, and private research organisations.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EIts research was launched in light of figures that suggest women still tend not to opt for a science research career even though they are qualified to do so. According to \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/ec.europa.eu\/research\/science-society\/document_library\/pdf_06\/she-figures-2012_en.pdf\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022\u003EShe Figures\u003C\/a\u003E, in 2010, for example, 46\u0026nbsp;% of all PhD graduates in the European Union were female, and yet only one third of senior research posts were occupied by women.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EPractical solutions\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EBased on its research findings, GENDERA published a booklet of recommendations for research and academic organisations on\u0026nbsp;how to improve\u0026nbsp;their equal opportunity strategies in order to attract more female candidates. Called \u003Cem\u003EPractical recommendations for research organisations to lead the change towards gender equality in science and technology,\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/em\u003Ethe publication\u0026nbsp;was distributed widely by partner countries.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u2018We wanted to make recommendations that could be readily understood by lay people and not just social scientists,\u2019 said GENDERA project coordinator Dr D\u00f3ra\u0026nbsp;Gro\u00f3 of the Hungarian Science and Technology Foundation. \u2018It\u2019s a very slow process but I\u2019m quite sure that several, if not all of these countries have used our publication to encourage people to think about the problem.\u2019 \u003Cblockquote class=\u0022tw-text-center tw-text-blue tw-font-bold tw-text-2xl lg:tw-w-1\/2 tw-border-2 tw-border-blue tw-p-12 tw-my-8 lg:tw-m-12 lg:tw--ml-16 tw-float-left\u0022\u003E\n \u003Cspan class=\u0022tw-text-5xl tw-rotate-180\u0022\u003E\u201c\u003C\/span\u003E\n \u003Cp class=\u0022tw-font-serif tw-italic\u0022\u003E\u2018Under-representation of women is\u0026amp;nbsp;a loss for the whole of society that\u2019s hard to measure and be proven scientifically, but it does exist.\u2019\u003C\/p\u003E\n \u003Cfooter\u003E\n \u003Ccite class=\u0022tw-not-italic tw-font-normal tw-text-sm tw-text-black\u0022\u003EAlexandra Bitusikova, senior researcher, Matej Bel University, Bansk\u00e1 Bystrica, Slovakia\u003C\/cite\u003E\n \u003C\/footer\u003E\n\u003C\/blockquote\u003E\n\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EIn the recommendations, GENDERA proposes steps to help make science research institutions more attractive to potential recruits, such as introducing family-friendly work schedules, in-house gender-awareness training and providing more childcare support. The project also presented a brief to policymakers, where it makes the case for gender quotas.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u2018Nobody likes gender quotas,\u2019 said Dr Gro\u00f3. \u2018We can\u2019t say that women should make up 50\u0026nbsp;% of the staff in a university, but it\u2019s essential that the committees that make decisions about science and science financing should be at least 30\u0026nbsp;% female.\u2019\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EEnforcing\u0026nbsp;quotas remains a controversial solution, though, to the \u2018gender equality in the workplace\u2019 problem.\u0026nbsp;In 2012, Justice Commissioner Viviane Reding\u2019s proposal\u0026nbsp;for it to be mandatory for\u0026nbsp;companies to\u0026nbsp;ensure 40\u0026nbsp;%\u0026nbsp;of\u0026nbsp;their board\u0026nbsp;directors\u0026nbsp;are\u0026nbsp;female by 2020 or face fines was met with criticism from some national governments\u0026nbsp;that commonly complained that such a\u0026nbsp;quota was patronising to women and undermined the establishment of real gender\u0026nbsp;equality in the workplace.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe criticism she faced came from both senior business men and women alike. \u2018The biggest challenge in many cases and in many countries is that even women say that there\u2019s no problem,\u2019 said Dr Gro\u00f3. \u2018So it\u2019s difficult to get people to acknowledge that there\u2019s something to discuss.\u2019\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EDatabase of gender equality initiatives\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe project expressly chose to assess the situation in Germany, Spain, Greece, Italy, Israel, Hungary, Austria, Slovakia and Slovenia. \u2018We didn\u2019t want to focus on the countries that already do well in promoting gender equality in science, like in Scandinavia,\u2019 said Dr Gro\u00f3. With the exception of Germany, says Gro\u00f3, these countries have demonstrated a relative lack of gender-awareness in the past.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EIn today\u2019s workplace, a \u2018gender-aware\u2019 company shows no bias towards either sex and an understanding of their respective working needs. In most cases, this usually translates into a company\u2019s ensuring that childcare facilities are available, equal opportunities for advancement and training are in place and maternity leave is standard policy.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAt the end of the GENDERA study, the partners produced a database of more than 60 gender-aware initiatives from their respective countries that had successfully promoted the advancement of women to research posts at different career stages and across different sectors.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ETo be included in the database, the initiatives had to show that they address one or more career-stage barriers faced by women. Principally, these are outdated perceptions of career suitability and the difficulty of reconciling a research career with family life.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EExample programmes include ICT summer schools for female undergraduates and networking opportunities that allow experienced female scientists to meet with their junior counterparts.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EChange afoot?\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EDuring its two-year course, GENDERA focused on the national level to see how and if EU recommendations on women in science are applied and\u0026nbsp;hosted a number of workshops in partner countries.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u2018We see gradual changes in institutions, but it\u2019s very slow. In Hungary, we see that multinational companies are dealing well with the gender issue,\u2019 she said. \u2018But it\u2019s the smaller companies that are much slower to change.\u2019\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022img_legend\u0022 style=\u0022float: left;\u0022\u003E\u003Cfigure role=\u0022group\u0022\u003E\n\u003Cimg alt=\u0022A female researcher at work. \u00a9 Shutterstock\/ Kolet \u0022 height=\u0022133\u0022 src=\u0022\/research-and-innovation\/sites\/default\/files\/hm\/HO-Gendera-univ-shutterstock_137438348.jpg\u0022 title=\u0022A female researcher at work. \u00a9 Shutterstock\/ Kolet \u0022 width=\u0022200\u0022\u003E\n\u003Cfigcaption class=\u0022tw-italic tw-mb-4\u0022\u003EA female researcher at work. \u00a9 Shutterstock\/ Kolet\u003C\/figcaption\u003E\n\u003C\/figure\u003E\n\u003Cem\u003EA female researcher at work. \u00a9 Shutterstock\/ Kolet \u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAlexandra Bitusikova, senior researcher at Matej Bel University in Bansk\u00e1 Bystrica, Slovakia, headed the Slovakian national task force. \u2018The problem with the under-representation of women in science is that it\u2019s a waste of talent and a waste of money,\u2019 said Dr Bitusikova.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u2018It leads to management and decisions that favour men... Under-representation of women is\u0026nbsp;a loss for the whole of society that\u2019s hard to measure and be proven scientifically, but it does exist.\u2019\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAccording to Bitusikova, the project has already had a positive impact in Slovakia. \u2018I think that in countries with underdeveloped gender equality policies, national workshops and conferences strongly contributed to awareness-raising,\u2019 she said. \u2018They offered a\u0026nbsp;much needed debate on a topic that is often considered a \u201cnon-topic\u201d, unimportant or non-existent,\u2019 she said.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAs for the long-term success of the GENDERA project, Dr Gro\u00f3 urges patience: \u2018The database is still available online and offers some encouraging examples,\u2019 she said. \u2018Our goal was not to solve the problem because that takes a long time. Our goal was to bring the problem to the surface,\u2019 she said. \u2018It\u2019s very frustrating when you can\u2019t see an immediate impact,\u2019 she added. \u2018But it is the kind of initiative that will have an effect in the long run.\u2019\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/textarea\u003E\n\u003C\/div\u003E\n\n \u003Cdiv id=\u0022edit-body-content--description\u0022 class=\u0022ecl-help-block description\u0022\u003E\n Please copy the above code and embed it onto your website to republish.\n \u003C\/div\u003E\n \u003C\/div\u003E\n\u003Cinput autocomplete=\u0022off\u0022 data-drupal-selector=\u0022form-x05ol4v6h7j5ilbttrbzbs6t6lsaw38pauzvzfmq-dw\u0022 type=\u0022hidden\u0022 name=\u0022form_build_id\u0022 value=\u0022form-x05OL4v6H7j5ilBttRbZBS6T6LSAw38pauZvZfMq_Dw\u0022 \/\u003E\n\u003Cinput data-drupal-selector=\u0022edit-modal-form-example-modal-form\u0022 type=\u0022hidden\u0022 name=\u0022form_id\u0022 value=\u0022modal_form_example_modal_form\u0022 \/\u003E\n\u003C\/form\u003E\n\u003C\/div\u003E","dialogOptions":{"width":"800","modal":true,"title":"Republish this content"}}]