Analysis of the national framework for women and men in Science

SHS Web of Conferences, 2016

The article presents stereotypes and fixed roles assigned to women who have compiled to contemporary trends and changing conditions of their presence in social and economic life. The authors carry out a diagnosis of the current situation in Poland, focusing mainly on obstacles and opportunities that have emerged against women who choose a scientific career with particular reference to its academic dimension. One of the main purposes of this paper is to propose initiatives and programs conducted by various institutions in various sectors.

π The Research Directorate-General commissioned this report in order to assess the conditions and status of women scientists in the Central and Eastern European countries and the Baltic States. Following the ETAN report on “Science policies in the European Union - Promoting excellence through mainstreaming gender equality”, which dealt essentially with the situation of women scientists in the current EU Member States, this report is the result of one of the actions of the Science and Society Action Plan: to promote gender equality in science in a wider Europe. The Enwise (Enlarge Women In Science to East) Expert Group was chaired by Professor Ene Ergma and its members are senior women scientists from different disciplines, representing academies of sciences, universities, research institutes and administration, as well as business. π This report investigates the situation of women scientists in the Enwise countries , providing an insight into the situation from a historical, as well as a contemporary perspective. It makes recommendations to a series of stakeholders: the Commission, the European Parliament, the Enwise countries, as well as the current EU Member States and organisations that educate, fund and employ scientists. π During pre-communist times, the position of women in these countries evolved in similar patterns to that in Western countries. However, the process was accelerated by political events, which led to the establishment of women’s suffrage rights, their representation in public administration and the co-education of children prior to that in Western Europe. π The report highlights the influence of the specific gender policy implemented in these countries during the communist regime, characteristics of which included the equal right to and the obligation of full- time employment, as well as access to education regardless of gender. Furthermore, this policy was supplemented by the availability of childcare facilities, legal protection and state support for the working mother. However, this formal gender equality was achieved and sustained through political censorship, and the suppression of women’s movements and freedom of speech. In addition, the system perpetuated horizontal and vertical segregation in all areas of employment (including the higher education and research sectors). The report acknowledges the legacy of the communist gender policy. The importance of education, and access to it, has led to the emergence of a considerable proportion of highly-qualified women active in all public spheres and notably in science.

Science Politics and Human Resources in SEE in the Context of European Integration

This paper aims to provide insight into the mutually reinforcing effects of science and education policies on the status of women in science. Their status has been examined by using key indicators from the Helsinki Group on women and science (mostly the latest ones) when possible, and other pertinent indicators of women's status in Serbian academia today. The paper focuses on basic research and academic institutions. An analysis of women researchers in social sciences has also been provided. An outline of women's status in science suggests that gender gaps can be detected in the education and scientific careers of female scientists in general. It is due to the fact that their life-course trajectories differ to men's; that is, personal life events interfere with their career paths. Eventually, women fall behind academically and hierarchically, and in turn they are outstripped by men in pursuing positions of power.

Nature, 1999

Statistical profiles of women’s and men’s status in the economy, science and society, ed. E. Okoń-Horodyńska, A.Zachorowska-Mazurkiewicz, 2015

Th is report deals with the issues of women's participation in the science and research sector. Analysis of the statistical data shows that both in the United States and in Europe, despite the fact that women make up almost half of those receiving a doctoral degree, among professors they are barely one-fi ft h. Th is issue is presented in geographical terms, divided into the countries of the European Union, Poland and Scandinavia. Common to them is the situation in which women scientists encounter more barriers than similarly qualifi ed men on their career path. In Poland, too, despite a signifi cant increase in the number of women studying at the further stages of the scientifi c career, the situation of women is not satisfactory. Th e last part of the paper is devoted to the policy of the Nordic countries in eliminating the phenomenon of gender inequality in the scientifi c sector. Although the countries in this region all run their own policy on gender balance in society, they are conducting a far-reaching consultation on a common strategy in this area, and action on gender equality in the Nordic scientifi c research sector is based primarily on anti-discrimination legislation. Th e solutions adopted in this region and the guidelines of European institutions will be treated as a kind of reference point for action to eliminate inequalities based on gender in the scientifi c sector. In taking on the issue of equality considerations in science, it must fi rst be noted that all the available statistics and research on a global, regional or national scale provide hard evidence of continuous underrepresentation of women in science. In almost all parts of the world the diff erence in the representation of women and men in the scientifi c environment is truly substantial. Th is situation is perfectly illustrated by the map given below, where we see sharp disparities and

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The article presents an intention to examine the possibilities of processing data on the representation of women in science and research from data collected in Slovakia as part of the Gender Equality Plan. The methodology follows the declared intention and consists of three steps. The first step is the identification of sources of sex-disaggregated data from the field of science and research in the Slovak Republic. Then follows the examination of the state of the art of tracking data in the identified data sources. The analysis of available data and the processing of the results is the next step. The share of women in Slovak science and research is demonstrated by the composition of project teams and by the statistical data of the supplementary statistical survey of research and development potential, which are collected through the national information system for research, development, and innovation, named SK CRIS. The result is a detailed analysis of the position of women in Slov...

In the contemporary scholarly discourse, the under-representation of women in science is often explained by the phenomenon of women 'in the pipeline'. The pipeline carries a flow from one stage to another, and the flow of women diminishes between the stages. Based on the literature and qualitative studies, it can be inferred that one of the main causes of leaking in the pipeline is the difficulty in reconciling professional and family life by female scientists. Scientific work that requires mobility and competition forces numerous women to abandon their career or take a career break for the period of assuming different family roles. The results of a number of studies demonstrate that there are some differences between Polish women and their peers from other countries in achieving the work-family connection. It appears that after fulfilling a set of necessary conditions, the reconciliation of professional and family life is sometimes possible.

European Educational Research Journal, 2017

This paper focuses on the dynamics that animate the situation of women inside academia and the social world of science. Based on a long-term ethnographic study we chose specific cases (scientists educated in Poland) to illustrate the complexity of the career-making process in the 21st century. In this country, in a social and professional environment that has belonged to the European Union for 12 years, we observed several particularities. In order to demonstrate the process of ‘reverse dynamic of equality construction’ we adapted a longue durée perspective. Our article shows how so-called ‘democratization’ dynamics (after the political changes of 1989) influenced the professional trajectories of women in Poland. The data suggest a progressive deterioration of the situation for Polish female scientists – a process that is ignored by the majority of Polish scholars.