Despite laws, regulations, good intentions and undisputed progress, women scientists in the European Union still suffer from job discrimination. Old-boy networks and old-fashioned gender bias are alive and well. Italian biophysicist Federica Migliardo writes that such practices not only perpetuate unfair treatment for women scientists, they also ensure that Europe will lose the global research race.

In our knowledge-based society, where every scientific mind is needed, equal access to employment and job promotion for both men and women would seem not only logical, but imperative. In order to make the European Union more competitive in science and technology, the Lisbon Strategy calls for recruiting 700,000 additional researchers by 2010. This policy goal underscores the fact that the research sector is crucial to economic growth in the EU. To achieve this objective the EU will need to draw upon our existing pool of highly trained women.

The fewer-than-expected numbers of women who rise to decision-making positions indicates an underuse of qualified human capital, which cannot help but hinder excellence in science. The ”glass ceiling” has meant that there is still a significant lack of women in scientific leadership positions. One of the priorities for the European Union is more equal gender representation in upper-echelon decision-making, and their target goal is for women to fill 25% of the leadership positions in public sector research.

In my opinion, despite anti-discrimination laws and EU targets, some of the most serious obstacles for women in science are due to current recruitment and evaluation systems that continue to favor employment of male researchers. Not only recruitment and evaluation practices, but job promotion policies and decision-making processes are also institutional mechanisms that remain biased against women. Gender segregation plays out in the various stages of recruitment and hiring, beginning with the manner in which potential applicants are informed of openings and persuaded to apply for them, and in later stages, how interviews are conducted, and the starting salary and benefits offered. Along with these institutionalized biases, plain and simple gender stereotypes and preferences still play a role.

”Old boy” networks and lack of transparency, as well as the rejection of gender equality as a valid goal in research policies and a lack of knowledge about gender issues all pose difficult problems that merit-based laws and regulations have yet to overcome. Informal peer networking and closed-shop deals dominate, resulting in a preference for sameness, i.e. maleness. This state of affairs prevails in recruitment practices, in job promotion policies and in selection for or election to leadership positions, as well as in peer review practices, funding practices and policy-making practices. Scientific excellence is the appropriate criterion in selecting and promoting researchers. Old boy networks and family connections lead to exclusion and a waste of talent.

In scientific leadership positions, which include, for example, positions in management, interdisciplinary communications, intercultural communications and mentoring, the implementation of more transparent hiring and job promotion procedures would greatly enhance women�s chances for equal recognition and appreciation.

In conclusion, two main goals could be accomplished by greater transparency. First, research potential would be maximized because full use would be made of Europe�s human resources and brain power. Europe would be in a better position to compete and innovate in our globalized world. Secondly, women scientists would have the necessary visibility to serve as the sorts of role models that attract young women to science and keep them in the profession.

Tags :

• gender 
• inequality

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1. Valentina Domenici - temporary researcher 2/08/2010

   I fully agree with Federica Migliardo and her analysis about the European situation of women in science. The Italian scenario is probably worst than the average European one, due to the big troubles the Italian Research is having now.
   My experience at Italian (public) University can be easily summarized in few words: no money, no meritocracy, no trasparency. In these conditions it is very hard to be competitive and to do eccellent researches. At this stage, women or men doesn’t matter, to my opinion.
   However, in Italy, it is also a rather general evidence that if no women (or few of them) are allowed to access to powerful levels (for instance, the number of women scientists present in the National Committees for the recruitement of new scientific researchers is extremely low!) women in science will be always a minority.