Commission wants more women involved in research
Promoting equal opportunities in research activities and stimulating research for and on women at European level are the main objectives of the "Women and Science" Communication, adopted by the European Commission on 17 February 1999. The Commission intends launching a wide debate on this matter with the Member States and will establish a threshold of 40% for the participation of women in Marie Curie Research Scholarships, as well as in the consultative bodies and the evaluation panels of the Fifth Framework Programme (FP5) for Research, Technological Development and Demonstration. Statistics available at European Union (EU) level on the participation of women in scientific careers are almost non-existent beyond university level. Concerning the higher education level, the percentage of women in the different disciplines is over 65% for Arts and Medical Studies, but falls to 27.6% for Mathematics and Computer Sciences and 18.7% for Engineering and Architecture. These averages also conceal strong geographical differences. Since 1993, the Commission and the European Parliament have analysed the reasons for the under-representation of women in research activities, and, more particularly, the obstacles which hinder this representation at the different stages of scientific careers. As regards policy issues, the Commission, on the initiative of Edith Cresson, Commissioner for Science and Research, wished to profit from the launch of FP5 in order to take a number of initiatives to encourage research by, for and on women. To ensure that research genuinely meets the needs of women, a threshold of 40% has been proposed for the participation of women at all levels regarding the implementation and management of research within the framework of FP5. Impact studies will also be carried out within each specific programme to evaluate the results of these measures. Promotion of research on women consists essentially of supporting gender-relevant research under the Key Action "Improving the socio-economic knowledge base". The work programme for this Key Action will enable the improvement in Europe of the level of knowledge on such issues as the situation of women on the labour market, social exclusion and integration, the evolution over time of men's and women's conditions, and the perspectives opened up to women by new models of development. In developing the above-mentioned schemes, the Commission has opted for a pragmatic, step-by-step and decentralised approach. For coordination, a "Gender and science watch system" will be established, with the aims of: - Collecting and dissemination statistics; - Encouraging a dialogue with Member States and members of the scientific community; - Being a contact point for all those, within and outside the Commission, who are involved in promoting women in European research.