Policy cycle in research

The European Commission’s Directorate-General for Research and Innovation’s She Figures report is the main source of comparable pan-European statistics on the state of gender equality in R & I.

Published every 3 years since 2003, She Figures is the European Commission’s publication that presents human resource statistics and indicators in the research and technological development sector and on gender equality in science. It provides information on the situation of women in science and research, based on data collected every 3 years by the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Research and Innovation, in close cooperation with the Helsinki Group on Women and Science and its statistical correspondents. It covers a wide range of themes, including the proportions of women and men among top-level graduates, academic staff and research/advisory boards, the working conditions of women and men researchers, the integration of the gender dimension into the content of peer-reviewed scientific articles and various indicators measuring gender gaps in scientific and innovation outputs. In She Figures, the joint repository for these data is referred to as the Women in Science (WiS) database.

In 2021, the European Commission published the seventh She Figures^[1]. In addition to new data on gender equality in the EU, the handbook provides input on the indicators used for She Figures 2021^[2]. The current version of the handbook aims to strengthen the ability of other stakeholders to systematically generate meaningful, systematic data on gender dimensions in R & I. Furthermore, the She Figures 2021 policy briefs deal with, for example, women’s presence, participation and progression in science, institutional culture and institutional change, and gender imbalance in Europe’s research leadership (https://op.europa.eu/en/publication-detail/-/publication/d9fbd9da-4da0-11ec-91ac-01aa75ed71a1).

Eurostat’s statistics on research and development is a collection of data concerning R & D expenditure and personnel, broken down by the institutional sectors of BES, GOV, HES and private non-profit (PNP). It also provides the total of all sectors. All data are broken down by the sectors of performance. R & D personnel data are available in FTEs, in head count (HC), as a percentage of employment and as a percentage of the labour force. The data are further broken down by occupation, qualification, sex, size class, citizenship, age group, field of science, economic activity (NACE Rev. 2^[3]) and region (NUTS-2 level^[4]). At the EU level, the sector is the basis for the calculation of the main sex-disaggregated indicators concerning R & D, in particular for the She Figures publication and database.

The UNESCO Institute for Statistics started to study STEM gender indicators in 2006. It follows an innovative methodology. In 2007, the UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS), together with UNESCO Natural Sciences Sector, published the first international report on science, technology and gender. Through its biennial survey and partnerships with other statistical organisations, the UIS collects cross-nationally comparable, gender-disaggregated statistics on research and experimental development– by sector, area of research and level of education – for more than 200 countries and territories. This data is used to support national and international policymaking to promote gender equality in science and technology and to expand the role of women in all fields of scientific research.

The MORE4 study (funded by the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Research and Innovation) has improved the set of indicators defined in the previous studies MORE1–3. The European Commission was able to identify what is important to researchers in their career and mobility, to what extent they still encounter obstacles to mobility or career, but also what impact policies have (had) on these aspects. As in MORE3, the current study also focuses on policies for young researchers. Within this framework, a set of internationally comparable indicators on stocks, flows, working conditions and career paths of European researchers as well as a database were implemented. It also offers an online indicator tool to view and download key indicators from the EU Higher Education Surveys in the consecutive studies MORE2, MORE3 and MORE4 by country, gender, field of science, career stage and year (2012, 2016 and 2019; https://www.more-4.eu/indicator-tool).

The European Tertiary Education Register (ETER) is a database holding information on higher education institutions in Europe including the number of students, graduates, international doctorates, personnel, fields of education, income and expenditure, along with descriptive information on the characteristics of the institutions. Providing data at the level of individual institutions, ETER currently covers the academic years 2011/2012 to 2016/2017. Sex-disaggregated data is available for the number of students and graduates by ISCED^[5] class as well as for personnel by different categories. One specificity of ETER is that data can be connected with other institutional-level datasets (e.g. publications, patents, EU projects) as well as databases such as the European Quality Assurance Register for Higher Education and the European University Association. This has a huge impact on higher education research in Europe. Currently, data is being collected for the academic years 2017/2018 up to 2019/2020 and will be published in spring 2022.

This report aims to present the results of the gender equality projects funded in the context of the Science with and for Society part of Horizon 2020. It served as input for the preparation of the implementation of the Horizon Europe programme.

This report aims to present the results of the gender equality projects funded in the context of the Science with and for Society part of Horizon 2020. It served as input for the preparation of the implementation of the Horizon Europe programme.

The report of the GENDERACTION project provides results from an analysis of national action plans (NAPs), an online survey conducted in 2017, an update of the survey in early 2019 and interviews with members of the Standing Working Group on Gender in R & I. It offers a set of indicators for monitoring NAP implementation, presents good practice policies and formulates recommendations for the next period of ERA implementation. The report clusters the Member States in relation to the implementation of their NAPs and correlates gender equality with research excellence and innovation performance of countries.

This report sets out the first comprehensive view of experiences and practices in Europe and abroad relating to women and science/research. Its aim is to collect and analyse research on horizontal and vertical gender segregation in research careers, along with the underlying causes and effects of these two processes. The objectives of the study were to provide an exhaustive overview and analysis of research on gender and science carried out at the European, national and regional levels, to make the study results accessible to researchers and policymakers via an informed bibliography (online database) and a set of reports, and finally, to steer policymaking on gender and science and define future research priorities within the framework programme, in particular through examples of good practice and gap analysis in the various research topics.

This report, published by the Standing Working Group on Gender Research and Innovation Task Force on Gender Equality Plans, discusses the policy instrument of GEPs and presents the main findings of a survey carried out by the Standing Working Group on Gender Research and Innovation to evaluate the adoption of GEPs by Member States and associated countries and to identify the needs and challenges related to the implementation of GEPs at the national level.

One of the first steps to take when defining your policy/project/programme is to gather information and analyse the situation of women and men in the respective policy area. The information and data you collect will give you an understanding of the reality of the situation and assist you in designing your policy, programme or project. Specific methods that can be used in this phase are gender analysis and gender impact assessment.

This publication uses case studies as concrete illustrations of how gender analysis leads to new ideas and excellence in research in several fields, such as health and medicine, environment and climate change, food and nutrition, transport and technological development.

This is an update of the publication from 2013 and it presents the results of the expert group. The focus is more on an inclusive and intersectional analysis. The report provides interdisciplinary case studies displaying how to integrate the gender dimension into various fields of R & I, along with concrete policy recommendations and guidance for the Horizon Europe framework programme.

This website offers manuals/tools to support organisations that fund or perform research, researchers and peer reviewers/evaluators by integrating sex and gender considerations into policies, programmes and projects and by raising awareness about the importance of sex and gender in R & I.

This toolkit helps researchers to integrate the gender dimension into their research and teaching and to apply it when conceiving new projects and student curricula. It also aims to help research and teaching staff consider in what way gender is relevant for their research and curricula.

This report evaluates the implementation of gender equality as a crosscutting issue in Horizon 2020 and presents possible improvements at the various stages of the implementation of Horizon 2020 from the work programme definition to the funded projects. It aims to provide a solid evidence base for designing future activities and initiatives, in particular the preparation of the ex ante impact assessment of the next framework programme for R & I.

The European Platform of Women Scientists is an umbrella organisation bringing together networks of women scientists and organisations committed to gender equality in research in all disciplines in Europe and the countries associated with the EU’s framework programmes for research and technological development. The platform welcomes researchers working in any discipline and working in science in its widest sense, ranging from the natural to the social sciences, and including, but not restricted to, science, engineering and technology. The European Platform of Women Scientists currently includes more than 100 member organisations and represents more than 12 000 women researchers all over Europe who are active in academia and industrial research.

The UNESCO Chair aims to improve the participation of women in STI on all levels. It also promotes the integration of a sex and gender perspective into research, technology and innovation. To this end, it cooperates with universities, research organisations, private companies, etc.

GenPORT is a developing online community of practitioners, served by an internet portal and made up of organisations and individuals working across the globe for gender equality and excellence in science, technology or innovation.

The Standing Working Group on Gender in Research and Innovation (SWG GRI) under the European Research Area and Innovation Committee (ERAC) is a policy advisory committee that advises the Council of the European Union, the European Commission and Member States on policies and initiatives related to gender equality in R & I (Priority 4 of the European research area), for the benefit of scientists, research institutions, universities, businesses and society at large. SWG GRI is a successor to the Helsinki Group on Gender in Research and Innovation (1999–2017). SWG GRI provides, for example, work programmes and annual reports to the European Council and the European Commission monitoring the implementation of the gender equality priority in the ERA. The SWG GRI was disbanded at the end of 2021.

The EU-funded project ACT initiated eight Communities of Practice (CoPs) as agents to develop gender equality actions at universities, research bodies and research funding organisations in the ERA. The ACT CoPs are groups of representatives of universities, R & I institutions and research funding organisations across Europe that share an interest in advancing the implementation of the ERA gender goals.

Within the framework of Horizon Europe, the European Commission is funding a centre of excellence that will advance the empirical research and evidence on gender equality policies in R & I organisations in Europe by building on an intersectional, intersectoral and geographic inclusive approach. It will contribute to reducing the gender equality implementation gap between Member States and consequently strengthening the ERA (no website available yet).

The  GENDERACTION  project  (2017–2021)  has developed a policy community to foster an effective and coordinated implementation of the gender equality priority in the ERA through engaging representatives appointed by national authorities in Member States and associated countries. The follow-up project starts in 2022 and will continue to support policymakers promoting gender equality in R & I. Specific attention will be paid to gender equality in research funding.

The European University Association (EUA) represents more than 800 universities located in 48 European countries and is a key stakeholder influencing EU policies on higher education and R & I.

It promotes the development of a coherent system of education and research at the EU level. The EUA is committed to promting gender equality in the framework of diversity and inclusion and facilitates the sharing of experiences and peer-learning on approaches and strategies for promoting gender equality.

The League of European Research Universities(LERU) network is comprised of 23 leading European research universities and aims to promote the understanding of the importance of research- intensive universities for innovation and the progress of society at large among key decision-makers and policymakers in Europe. In this effort, LERU also emphasises the relevance of gender equality and diversity for research quality and innovation. The LERU equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI) policy group discuss (EDI policies, practices and actions to advance organisational strategies and EU policies. The EDI policy group published several LERU policy papers on EDI issues.

CESAER is an association of leading specialised and comprehensive universities of science and technology in Europe and beyond and is an acknowledged stakeholder organisation for the ERA. It published a declaration on ‘EDI at the universities of science and technology’ in 2019, in which it commits itself to accelerating the momentum to foster EDI. The CESAER Task Force Human Resources will be monitoring the EDI pledges of the declaration by 2024.

Science Europe is an association that represents major public organisations that fund or perform research in Europe. Among its 38 members are many research funding organisations. One of its priorities is to ensure the quality of research assessments so as to guarantee robust and fair outcomes either in research funding or hiring and promotion decisions. Another Science Europe priority is opening up the discussion on a research culture where all researchers are able to thrive, which is closely related to gender equality and inclusion.