Policy report on Women and Science presented to Busquin

Awareness of the under-representation of women in science has been rising sharply in most Member States in recent years. The European Commission is tackling the issue at European level, and in 1997 launched an initiative on women and science as part of the preparation for the ...

Awareness of the under-representation of women in science has been rising sharply in most Member States in recent years. The European Commission is tackling the issue at European level, and in 1997 launched an initiative on women and science as part of the preparation for the Fifth Framework Programme.

One of the Commission’s subsequent actions was to establish a group of twelve women experts who were asked to produce an policy report on measures to be taken to promote women in science. The European Technology Assessment Network group, chaired by Mary Osborn, presented this report to Research Commissioner Philippe Busquin in November 1999. It was also presented to a group of national civil servants meeting in Helsinki, and promises to serve as a basis for wider policy debate in Europe. An open conference will be organised by the Commission on 4 and 5 April 2000 to discuss the issue with all stakeholders.

Commissioner Busquin expressed his determination to achieve greater participation by women in science. He said: ‘I am strongly committed to the issue and I agree with the authors of the report that women’s potential in European science is seriously underused, especially at senior level. I also deplore the lack of reliable gender statistics and the fact that many highly trained women are lost to science during their career. Apart from the efforts already undertaken in the present Framework Programme for Research I feel that the Sixth Framework Programme for research would be an adequate place to strengthen implementation of the gender mainstreaming principle.’

Recommendations for action outlined in the report included: attracting more young people to science; encouraging women to apply for research fellowships and senior posts; making an effort to improve gender statistics; access to public records; evaluating and achieving gender parity in academia; supporting networks of women scientists; facilitating parent’s return to science after a career break; and mainstreaming scientific institutions and organisations.