Transcript Good Gender Equality Practices in Science and

Good Gender Equality
Practices in Science and
Technology in the Nordic
Countries
Dr. Liisa Husu
University of Helsinki
CEM-CONICYT CONFERENCE EXCELLENCE IN
SCIENCE AND GENDER EQUALITY:
IN SEARCH OF GOOD PRACTICES IN SCIENCE AND
TECHNOLOGY RESEARCH
Santiago, November 6, 2007
The Nordic region
Map: copyright: Kort & Matrikelstyrelsen, Denmark
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Nordic countries
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Denmark, Greenland, Faroe Islands
Finland and Åland islands
Iceland
Norway
Sweden
25 million inhabitants
Denmark, Finland, Sweden in the EU
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Small Gender Gaps
World Economic Forum:
 Global Gender Gap index 2006 (0 – 1)
 economic participation, education, political
empowerment, health and survival
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1.
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Sweden
Norway
Finland
Iceland
Denmark
0.8133
0.7994
0.7958
0.7813
0.7462
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High R& D intensity
Source: EC Key Figures 2005
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Researchers in labour force
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Proportion of women in research
Source: EC She Figures 2006
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Gender equality promotion
 Prevention
 Positive
of discrimination
action
 Gender
mainstreaming: integrating
gender into all actions, policies and
practices
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Multiple methods
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Long gender equality agendas
Intersectionality increasingly taken into
account: how gender entangles with
ethnicity, nationality, disability, sexual
orientation etc.
 How to succeed in implementation?
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Nordic measures
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Gender equality legislation
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Equality planning
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Earmarking positions and funding
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Quotas for decision-making bodies
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Targets for women’s proportion in the
professoriate
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Governmental financial support to knowledge
production and information activities on gender
issues
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New infrastructures for promoting gender
equality in academia and research
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Support for networking
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Gender statistics and indicators
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Gender mainstreaming
 launched
in UN conference on
women, Beijing 1995, adopted by EU
 Increasingly
adopted as an approach
in gender equality promotion
nationally, in universities and
research councils
 But:
organisations of technological
research lag often behind
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Equality legislation forms in all Nordic countries
the basis for promotion of gender equality in
science, technology and academia
DENMARK 1978
 SWEDEN 1980
NORWAY 1978
FINLAND 1986
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Prohibition of gender discrimination
Active promotion of gender equality, positive
action, equality planning
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Earmarking and quotas
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Sweden: 30 professorships for
“underrepresented gender” (late 1990s)  EU
court case
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Norway: 20 earmarked professorships for
women  EFTA court case
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Finland: 8 Women’s Studies professorships, one
Academy professorship, late 1990s
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Earmarked funding for women’s studies/gender
studies since the late 1970s in all Nordic
countries
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 Gender
quotas in publicly appointed
committees FI, NO, DK (Equality
law), SW (policy)
 Impact
on National Research
Councils and Scientific and
Technology Councils -> gender
balance
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Women in scientific boards
Source: EC She Figures 2006
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Governmental financial support to
knowledge production and information
services
 Support
for Women’s Studies and
Gender Research in all Nordic
countries since 1970s/1980s
 Funding
for infrastructure, networks,
research programmes, coordination
and information
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More visibility to women’s expertise: databases
of women experts
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KVINFO, DENMARK : Information service on women and
gender issues
KVINFO's database of women experts contains easy-toaccess bibliographical information on professionally
qualified women in Denmark (in Danish). The database
contributes to the strengthening of the public image of
women and to increasing the visibility of their knowledge,
experience and expertise.
Over 1OOO experts (scholars, business women, politicians,
cultural figures etc.)
Free on-line search by field, organisation, keyword
Supported financially by the Ministry of Culture
www.kvinfo.dk
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... databases
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KILDEN, NORWAY:
Norwegian Information and Documentation
Centre for Women's Studies and Gender
Research, funded by Norwegian Research Council
(KILDEN = SOURCE)
KILDEN’S RESEARCHER DATABASE
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Free on-line use
Information on 2000 female researchers, all fields
funding: Ministry of Church, Education and Research
started 1999
in close co-operation with KVINNEBASEN
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Norway: Committee for
Mainstreaming - Women in Science
Set up by the Ministry of Education and
Research
 Resource data bank for gender equality
promotion in the academic sector
 Statistics
 Literature
 Measures
 Best practices
 http://kvinneriforskning.no/english/
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Universities
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University level Gender Equality Committees (FI,
NO, SWE, ISL, less in DK)
Equality Advisers and Officers (FI, NO, SWE)
National networking of gender equality advisers
and committees (FI, NO, SW)
Equality Action Plans at University and Faculty
level, anti-discrimination and anti-harassment
policies (FI, NO, SWE)
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Mentoring programmes for women
researchers
Gender equality training for management
Leadership programmes for university
women (esp. Sweden)
Female professors’ networks
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Research Councils
 Equality
Action Plans
 Internal
gender equality working
groups or committees
 Reports,
regular monitoring,
indicators, follow-up of gender
equality development
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Academy of Finland (national
research council organisation)
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www.aka.fi
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Gender Equality Plan (first 2000-2003)
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Gender Equality monitoring reports
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Gender Equality working group
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Encouraging women to apply for funding
(since 1998) in calls for funding
applications
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Academy of Finland
Equality Plan 2005-2007
 Mainstreaming
principle
 If two candidates equally qualified,
or only differ slightly in their level of
scientific qualification, the applicant
representing the minority gender will
have the first priority to the research
post
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Reconciling work and family
 Parental
leave extends fixed-term
funding period
 Men encouraged to take parental
leave
 Research training abroad: 20 %
increase of grant if researcher is
guardian of minor children
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… Academy of Finland
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Academy of Finland internal working
groups: 40% men and women
Evaluators and referees of funding
applications: target 40%
In practice not reached, especially in
natural sciences and technology: in 20002005 only 8 – 21 % of evaluators female
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Academy of Finland
gender equality plan 2005: Indicators
 Indicator
1: EQUALITY IN AF
RESEARCH FUNDING
 Equality in AF research funding
 Positions according to gender
 Project funding acc to gender
 Project researchers acc to gender
and level of education
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 Indicator
2: success rate by gender
in AF funding
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 Success
rate in obtaining research
posts and positions by gender
 Success
rate by research project
funding by gender
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Indicator 3: Equality in Research
Programme funding
 Programme
research project
directors by gender
 Directors
of Centers of Excellence,
Programme and group directors by
gender
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 Indicator
4:Science policy actors and
decision makers
 Academy
project evaluation experts
by gender
 Research
Council chairs and
members by gender
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Indicator 5: Equality in researcher
training
 Doctoral
of study
degrees by gender by field
 Dissertation
intensity by gender and
by field of study
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Indicator 6: Equality in university
instruction and researcher posts
 University
research personnel by
position by field of research and
gender
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New initiatives
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Sweden: Vinnova : Swedish Governmental
Agency for Innovation Systems
www.vinnova.se > english
Call for ”Applied Gender Research within strong
research and innovation environments” 45 million
SEK, 2008-2012
To improve the competitiveness of Sweden and
create sustainable development through
developing and strengthening gender perspective
in R&D environments funded by Vinnova
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Vinnova: early career support for postdoctoral
women researchers
Vinnmer program: 2007-2014
Grants will cover half of the salary of the
applicant and any additional costs for the
applicant and her family, when doing a post doc
abroad
Both post docs abroad, visitors to Sweden and
post docs in Sweden are covered, with emphasis
on international connections
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 Norwegian
Ministry of Education:
2 million NOK (260 000 euros)
institutional award
to university or institution which has
done the most to promote women in
science
 Call 2007
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 Nordic
Network of Women in Physics:
www.norwip.org
 European Platform of Women
Scientists EPWS:
www.epws.org
– Network of women scientists’ networks
– European women scientists´ joint voice
on research policy
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European Network on Gender
Equality in Higher Education
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Since 1999, coordinated from the University of
Helsinki
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Regular large conferences: next in Stockholm,
August 2009
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Email network eq-uni, over 440 members from
over 30 countries and all continents
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To join, send email with text subscribe eq-uni to
[email protected]
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