Papers by Maria Caprile Elola
Overcoming the Challenge of Structural Change in Research Organisations – A Reflexive Approach to Gender Equality
Universities are large, complex and highly hierarchical organisations with deeply engrained gende... more Universities are large, complex and highly hierarchical organisations with deeply engrained gendered values, norms and practices. This chapter reflects on the experiences of two universities in initiating structural change towards gender equality as supported by the TARGET project. A common aspect thereby is the lack of a national policy in higher education and research providing specific support for implementing gender equality policies. The process of audit, design, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of the first gender equality plan (GEP) in each of these universities was conceived as a first step in a long journey, providing a framework for engaging different institutional actors and fostering reflexive, evidence-based policy making. The analysis deals with reflexivity and resistance and seeks to draw lessons from bottom-up and top-down experiences of GEP implementation. It is the result of shared reflection between the GEP 'implementers' in the two universities and the team who provided support and acted as 'critical friends'.
The Gender Equality Audit and Monitoring (GEAM) tool developed by the ACT project provides an int... more The Gender Equality Audit and Monitoring (GEAM) tool developed by the ACT project provides an integrated environment for carrying out survey-based gender equality audits in organizations (e.g. university or research performing organization) or organizational units (faculty, departments). The GEAM tool is based upon the Athena Survey of Science, Engineering and Technology (ASSET) and on existing measurement scales in the scientific literature. It has been extended with new questions/topics and adapted to better fit the varying national contexts in Europe. The GEAM is a modular questionnaire framework. This involves on the one hand the GEAM Core questionnaire, which comprises a relatively comprehensive collection of questions that cover most aspects of gender equality in academic organizations. The LimeSurvey version of the GEAM Core is provided as "lss" file. It provides a good starting point for implementing an initial audit and assessment of the current state-of-play in t...
The Gender Equality Audit and Monitoring (GEAM) survey has been developed by research teams from ... more The Gender Equality Audit and Monitoring (GEAM) survey has been developed by research teams from the UK (Advance HE) and Spain (Notus and Universitat Oberta de Catalunya). It provides a comprehensive, transferable and transnational survey for higher education and research organisations that wish to undertake an audit of gender equality among academic, technical and support staff. Ideally it is launched during the initial stages of a Gender Equality Plan to understand better the specific challenges faced by each institution from the perspective of its employees. As such it complements other types of data collected for example from Human Resource departments on the representation of women and men across different staff categories and salary brackets.
INTRODUCCIÓ L'objectiu d'aquest article és analitzar la qualitat de l'ocupació a Cata... more INTRODUCCIÓ L'objectiu d'aquest article és analitzar la qualitat de l'ocupació a Catalunya. 35 Es tracta d'un concepte en si mateix controvertit i subjecte a consideracions de tipus polític i ideològic, ja que és evident que no tothom dóna la mateixa prioritat ni entén la mateixa cosa quan es planteja la necessitat de millorar la qualitat de l'ocupació. D'altra banda, és també un concepte complex, multi-dimensional, perquè la qualitat de l'ocupació no es pot reduir a una única di-mensió, com ara el treball estable o el salari digne, per bé que siguin impor-tants. És més aviat el resultat d'un adequat equilibri entre aspectes molt diferents de l'ocupació. Des de fa un temps, estudis comparatius rellevants com els de la posen de manifest que en el debat actual sobre la qualitat de l'ocupació es combinen aspectes tradicionals, com són el salari digne o la salut en el treball, amb altres que han adquirit una nova rellevància. Entre els més destaca...
The main aim of this conceptual framework is to identify how a Community of Practice (CoP) approa... more The main aim of this conceptual framework is to identify how a Community of Practice (CoP) approach can advance gender equality through institutional change in the European Research Area by removing gender-related institutional barriers to research careers, tackling gender imbalances and gender bias in decision-making and integrating the gender dimension in education, research and innovation content. The first section looks at how a CoP can be developed within an institution to promote organisational change for a greater gender equality in these three gender equality priority areas. The second section considers how an inter-organisational CoP can promote institutional change, primarily through the sharing of best-practices and institutions working together in these three gender equality priority areas.The third section identifies how ACT can improve the competence and agency of CoPs by providing targeted support. The fourth section considers the scaling up of CoPs and how this could...
The Gender Equality Audit and Monitoring (GEAM) tool developed by the ACT project provides an int... more The Gender Equality Audit and Monitoring (GEAM) tool developed by the ACT project provides an integrated environment for carrying out survey-based gender equality audits in organizations (e.g. university or research performing organization) or organizational units (faculty, departments). The GEAM tool is based upon the Athena Survey of Science, Engineering and Technology (ASSET) and on existing measurement scales in the scientific literature. It has been extended with new questions/topics and adapted to better fit the varying national contexts in Europe. The GEAM is a modular questionnaire framework. This involves on the one hand the GEAM Core questionnaire, which comprises a relatively comprehensive collection of questions that cover most aspects of gender equality in academic organizations. The LimeSurvey version of the GEAM Core is provided as "lss" file. It provides a good starting point for implementing an initial audit and assessment of the current state-of-play in t...
Eurofound’s 2016 report Mapping key dimensions of industrial relations identified four key dimens... more Eurofound’s 2016 report Mapping key dimensions of industrial relations identified four key dimensions of industrial relations: industrial democracy, industrial competitiveness, social justice, and quality of work and employment. This report builds upon that earlier study, developing a dashboard of 45 indicators to assess how and to what extent the conceptual framework of these key dimensions can be applied at national level. The indicators were tested across the Member States by Eurofound’s Network of European Correspondents and show reasonable accuracy when used to map the predominant features and trends of the national industrial relations systems. The study confirms that a dashboard of indicators that can accurately measure and summarise the complex reality of industrial relations across the EU is a valuable tool for comparative research and a useful instrument for supporting policymakers, social partners and stakeholders. The report sets out a range of options for further develo...
Industrial democracy refers to the rights of employers and employees to participate in the decisi... more Industrial democracy refers to the rights of employers and employees to participate in the decision-making defining the employment relationship. The concept acknowledges the autonomy of both sides of industry as collective organisations and their collective capacity to influence decision-making. Industrial democracy
This article examines the different discourses of trade unions and employers on quality of employ... more This article examines the different discourses of trade unions and employers on quality of employment in Spain. The study takes a qualitative approach, using discussion groups to obtain discursive information about the meanings of quality, assessments and the different strategies employed by social agents. Trade unions use the ‘quality discourse’ as a reason to examine and reconstruct their current role, extending their main concerns and paradigms from those which defend workers’ interests to those which consolidate their criticism of a reprehensible Spanish employer class. Employers’ discourse, on the other hand, is aimed at highlighting the market’s productive purpose, and sustaining their privileged position in labour management, whilst disassociating and distancing themselves from the employment decisions they make.
The ‘Guidelines to Design a Customised Gender Equality Plan (GEP)’ – (D3.3.) provide concrete gui... more The ‘Guidelines to Design a Customised Gender Equality Plan (GEP)’ – (D3.3.) provide concrete guidance for the second stage of the TARGET project for the seven Gender Equality Innovating Institutions (GEIIs) participating in the project: three research performing organisations (including two universities - University of Belgrade, Serbia; UH2C, Morocco - and a public research performing organisation - ELIAMEP, Greece), three research funding organisations (ARACIS, Romania; FRRB, Italy; RPF, Cyprus) and a network of universities in the Mediterranean basin (RMEI). Based on the TARGET gender equality audit tool (GEAT) this general guidance document tries to help TARGET implementing institutions identify initial priorities of the GEP on the basis of the audits undertaken. Specifically it walks the GEIIs through how to use the results (of the audit) to design the GEP in a reflexive and participative way –thereby further embedding the GEP process within the institution. Although the focus ...
Evaluation and Program Planning, 2019
Gender equality and gender mainstreaming in research is one of the six European Research Area (ER... more Gender equality and gender mainstreaming in research is one of the six European Research Area (ERA) priorities. Integrating the gender dimension in research content and teaching is one of its three objectives. It is arguably the objective where least progress has been made. In this article we contribute to the evidence base by applying the EFFORTI evaluation framework to three empirical case study interventions that aim to integrate the gender dimension in tertiary education and research content. Comparison is based on an evaluation of the design of the intervention, those factors that have enabled/ hindered its implementation as well as an assessment of outcomes and impacts. The findings of the case studies highlight the importance of design, specifically regarding resources, legal status and the definition and operationalisation of the gender concept. Implementation hinges on top-level institutional commitment and mainstreaming gender studies with support of a central unit and crucially gender competence. A lack of recognition and status of gender studies and subsequent innovations was seen to hamper implementation. Outcomes and impacts included an increased awareness and interest in gender, increased gender competence, a push towards gender equality regarding representation and organisational change as well as an improved accreditation process and more and better research.
La �calidad del empleo� se ha convertido en los ultimos anos, a partir del Consejo Europeo de Lis... more La �calidad del empleo� se ha convertido en los ultimos anos, a partir del Consejo Europeo de Lisboa del ano 2000, en un objeto de referencia, reflexion e investigacion frecuente en Europa y en Espana. Este libro es el resultado de una investigacion empirica sobre la calidad del empleo en Espana, que no da por obvio el significado del concepto, ya que se considera que su ineludible caracter normativo hace que, de alguna manera, cada pais tenga su propia idea de calidad. A partir de ahi se profundiza en aquellos aspectos que mas y mejor contribuyen a su conocimiento, que se concretan en cuatro puntos: 1) indaga acerca del conjunto de normas de referencia que definen lo que en Espana se entiende por calidad y decencia en el empleo; 2) analiza la situacion actual de la calidad del empleo en Espana, estableciendo las pautas de desigualdad en el mercado de trabajo e identificando los principales segmentos en que se desagrega, para tambien compararlas con otros paises de la UE; 3) estudia los procesos y factores sociales que mas directamente inciden en la particular segmentacion de la calidad del empleo en Espana; 4) y concluye indicando aquellas politicas que, segun se deduce de la investigacion, permitirian no solo iniciar un camino para mejorar globalmente la baja calidad del empleo en el mercado de trabajo espanol, sino, ante todo, evitar el atrapamiento de la poblacion laboral activa en situaciones de empleo precarias.
International Journal of Society Systems Science, 2012
are two European countries differing considerably in their development and productive structures ... more are two European countries differing considerably in their development and productive structures as well as in their internationalisation process. This affects many dimensions of each economy, most notably their trade volumes, market sizes and product specialization. Spain and Denmark also differ significantly in labour market outcomes as well as in the design of labour market policies and institutions and the role they played in facilitating labour reallocation. For these reasons, it is instructive to compare them, in particular as they have demonstrated substantial labour market adjustments due to changing international economic conditions. While the results of direct comparisons cannot always be translated into policy action due to country-specific institutional settings and varying economic circumstances, comparative analysis has the potential to yield useful insights into best practices and transferrable policy lessons. With this in mind, the purpose of this paper is to consider the evolution of trade and labour market outcomes in Denmark and Spain since the early 1990s, in order to provide policyrelevant insights on the relationship between production, trade and labour markets in these countries. Special focus is given to the increased weight of some emerging economies in world trade patterns and how they have affected the trade patterns of these two European countries and their employment behaviours.
Labour & Industry: a journal of the social and economic relations of work, 2020
ABSTRACT Industrial democracy is a dimension of industrial relations which has been largely studi... more ABSTRACT Industrial democracy is a dimension of industrial relations which has been largely studied. However, the international comparison of the different features and outcomes of industrial democracy has attracted much less attention. The article addresses this gap by developing three tools: a dashboard of indicators, a composite indicator aiming to measure performance, and a typology addressed to better understanding varieties of national industrial relations system. Whilst industrial democracy performance is defined in a normative way, the typology includes also other aspects related to industrial relations institutions, processes and actors. Both normative and non-normative indicators are included in the dashboard. The three tools allow for cross-time analysis and are seen as complementary for the comparative analysis of industrial democracy in Europe.
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Papers by Maria Caprile Elola