D3.2A GENERA-ex-ante report public EP 8Aug · Deliverable D 3.2A Ex-ante assessment report - short...

GrantAgreementNo.665637

GenderEqualityNetworkintheEuropeanResearchAreaPerforminginPhysics

September2015-August2018

DeliverableD3.2A

Ex-anteassessmentreport-shortversion

July2017

WorkPackage3 MonitoringandEvaluation:Developandtestatooltomonitorprogressofgenderequality

Task3.2 Assessmentofgenderequalityinparticipatingresearchorganizations

ResponsibleBeneficiary JoanneumResearch(Austria):HeleneSchiffbänker,SilviaHafellner

Ex-anteassessmentreportTask3.2–Shortversion1

TableofContent

1. Introduction....................................................................................................................................2

2. GENERAevaluation.........................................................................................................................3

3. InstitutionalizationofgenderequalityinGENERApartnerorganizations......................................9

4. PotentialFieldsofInterventionforGEPs......................................................................................10

5. Statusquo:NationalResearchCouncil(CNR)...............................................................................15

6. Statusquo:NationalCenterforScientificResearch(CNRS)..........................................................16

7. Statusquo:DeutschesElektronen-Synchrotron(DESY)................................................................17

8. Statusquo:InstitutodeAstrofísicadeCanarias(IAC)...................................................................19

9. Statusquo:HoriaHulubeiNationalInstituteforR&DinPhysicsandNuclearEngineering(IFIN-HH)........................................................................................................................................20

10. Statusquo:NationalInstituteforNuclearPhysics(INFN).............................................................22

11. Statusquo:JagiellonianUniversityinKrakow(JU)........................................................................24

12. Statusquo:KarlsruheInstituteofTechnology(KIT)......................................................................25

13. Statusquo:MaxPlanckSociety(MPG).........................................................................................27

14. Statusquo:InstitutesOrganisationoftheNetherlandsOrganisationforScientificResearch(NWO-I).........................................................................................................................................29

15. Statusquo:UniversityofGeneva(UNIGE)....................................................................................31

16. Policylearning:findingsrelatedtoGENERAprojectandconsortium(designandpractices).......33

17. Annex:OverviewEx-AnteFacts.....................................................................................................38


1. Introduction

This report is an outcome of the Horizon 2020 project GENERA (Gender Equality Network in theEuropeanResearchArea).ThecoreaimoftheGENERAprojectistofostergenderequalityinphysicsby supporting research organizations to implement gender equality plans (GEPs). Eleven researchorganizationsineightdifferentcountriesintendtoimplementGEPs.1

These eleven GENERA partner organizations have been studied in the ex-ante assessment.Deliverable 3.2 reports on the findings of the ex-ante assessment, and was submitted by end ofFebruary 2017. D3.2 provides insights for each implementing partner organization on the genderpolicies already implemented, the on-going discussions, and the discourses related to genderequality issues at institutional level. It also reflects on the up-to-date experience regardingimplementation of (intended) measures/GEPs. D3.2 aims to empower partners and especiallyimplementationmanagers to identify the relevant topics and actions for their institutional genderequalityplans.Therefore,weincludedinthisreportinformationderivedthroughinterviewsthatcanhelp identify weaknesses in approaches, inconsistences in strategies, and contradictions inunderstandingtheroleofGEPs.Thereportisintendedtosupportaprocessofreflectionamongthemembers of the GENERA teams on the challenges within their organizations to achieve greatergender equality. D3.2 contains many quotes to illustrate the different challenges, learnings, andexpectationstoenablepartnerstolearnfromeachother.

ThefullD3.2reporthasbeenproducedforGENERApartnersonly. However, thereare lessons forothersaswell,andthisshorterversion(D3.2A)hasbeencreatedforpublicuse.Inordertoguaranteemaximumdataprotectionandanonymityofall interviewees,quotes inthestatusquodescriptionshavebeeneliminated,thereportwasshortenedandargumentsweredevelopedforwideruse.

The report is structured as follows: The evaluation approach and methodology is presented inChapter2,explainingthe focusof theex-anteanalysis.Chapter3givesanoverviewof theex-antestatus quo of the institutionalization of gender equality in theGENERApartner organizations, andChapter4discussesthepotentialfieldsofinterventionregardingthedesignandimplementationofGEPs.Thelatter,includesongoingdiscussionsongenderinphysics,aswellasthespecificchallengesthatresearchorganizationsfacewhenfosteringgenderbalanceinthephysicsfield.

TheChapters5to15describethestatusquoofgenderequalityinallGENERApartnerorganizations.Also,relevantdiscoursesandexperiencesaredescribedinordertoprovidea learningenvironmentandinspireotherGENERApartners,aswellas(externaltotheConsortium)membersoftheGENERANetwork.

Chapter16presentssomegeneral findingsconcerningtheorganizationandtargetsof theGENERAprojectaswellas issuesrelatedtothecollaborationwithintheconsortium.Thefindingspresentedareintendedtosupportpolicylearning.

1 In this report the following notions are used: A GEP is a document that lines out the approach formoregender equality in an institution, department or institute. The ‘Design of GEPs’ refers to the process ofdeveloping a GEP (analysing context, setting-up targets, discussing and negotiating ideas, developingmonitoring) while the implementation of a GEP is the process of getting measures done in practice, likeofferingatraining,havealistofgender-fairselectioncriteriaapproved).


Finally, the annex provides an overview of the findings from the ex-ante policy survey. Details ongenderequalityplansandpolicies,measures,targetsandcommonchallengesandneedsforsupportintheGENERApartnerorganizationsaresummarized.

This evaluation report is based on qualitative data from interviews.We thank all interviewees fortheirtime, ideasand inspiration,andallGENERAteamsforhostingtheevaluationteamduringthesitevisitsandforthesupportwhenschedulingtheinterviews.Weareawarethatbyconductingtheinterviewswealsoraisedexpectationsforthenextsteps.Intervieweesoftenaskedhowtheir ideaswillbeused,andwillbethenextstepsinGENERA.

Informing the interviewees and the wider group of employees about GENERA and the furtherimplementation process goes beyond the task of an ex-ante evaluation. The implementationmanagers and GENERA teams are invited to use our findings and communicate back to theintervieweesaboutwhatwillhappennext.

Wehopethatthisreportwillprovideabasisfordiscussionsandplanningthenextsteps,andthatitwill provide inspiration for others on how to design gender equality measures and GEPs, and socontributetothesuccessandsubstantialimpactoftheGENERAproject.

2. GENERAevaluation

2.1. Evaluationtargets

ThetermsofreferencesspecifiedbytheGERI.4.2015Call2,forwhichGENERAisfunded,statethatanevaluationisrequestedto:“impartiallymonitor[…]andassess[…]theprogressmadethroughoutthedurationoftheproject“.

This evaluation is designed as an accompanying evaluationwith themain aim to provide an earlyfeedback for relevantactorsand tooptimize theoperationalizationof theGENERAproject,and itscore aim to implement GEPs in physics. A further evaluation target is to provide a learningenvironment, share experiences between partners, and to empower them tomake best progresswhenimplementingGENERAmeasures.

2.2. CriticalFriend

The evaluation design is based on the concept of the Critical Friend (Balthasar 2011). The CriticalFriend approach combines the added value of an external evaluation: evaluation competence,distancetotheevaluated,advicefromoutside;withtheadvantagesofaninternalevaluation:goodknowledge of the project, evaluated as the main data source, and short-in-time-results with fastfeedbacktooptimizetheprocess.

The Critical Friend concept also gives the possibility to combine the elements of formative andsummativeevaluation.Theexplicittargetistoprovideideashowtoimproveandsupportthedesignprocess(andlatertheimplementationprocess).

2SeeHorizon2020WorkProgramme2014/15NET4SOCIETY


WhiletheCriticalFriendapproachistraditionallyperceivedasatoolforsupportingmanagementofaprogram (Balthasar 2011: 205)3, it is characterized by the proximity between evaluator andevaluated,whichenablesatrustfulrelationshiptoemergethatcanbecomethebasisforalearningopportunity. Lessons and advice come from external people, not involved in the implementationprocess themselves, who are responsible for the evaluation process and for providing a learningenvironment, but are not responsible for the actions subsequent to the findings (Balthasar 2011:201).

Among the variety of possible evaluation processes, we see the Critical Friend approach as anopportunitytoaccessfreshideasonhowtoimproveandsupporttheGEPdesignprocess(andlaterthe implementation process). The idea is not to assess the partners’ work, but to present anobjective perspective onwhat has been done so far, what is planned next, which discussions areongoing,andwhatchallengesstillremain.

Inthisex-anteassessment,weusetheCriticalFriendperspectivetoaskhowtoputex-antefindingsintopractice,howthiscanbeorganized,andwhoisresponsibleforwhat.Inthisreport,theideasofthe Critical Friend are presented directly where the findings are discussed (not at the end of thereport)inordertobetterunderstandthecontextoftheideas/recommendations.

2.3. Ex-anteevaluationprocess

The design of the evaluation is outlined in the evaluation concept, where also the theoreticalframework and the main research questions are specified. The GENERA evaluation is anaccompanyingevaluation,whichintendsto“assesstheimplementationprocessandthepracticesofGENERAmembers”,soresearchactivities(WP2),dissemination(WP6)andnetworking(WP5)arenotevaluated. The ex-ante assessment includes context and design analysis, while the ex-postassessment examines coherence and implementation analysis, assessing the institutional progressandculturalchange.

Inthecontextanalysisrelevant informationaboutthenationalandculturalframeworkisprovided,referringtolegalregulationsforgenderequality(inscience),culturalnormsandsocialinfrastructure(childcarefacilities).Alsothe institutionalcontext isdescribed,presentingnumbersonfemaleandmaleresearchers,butalsogenderpoliciesinplace.

Thedesignanalysis takesacloser lookatall relevantactivitiesbefore the implementation,what iscalled the design of measures. This covers the targets of the measures, their fit to the overallorganizational gender targets andpotential overlapsorpitfalls. InGENERAallmeasureswhichare(going to be) integrated in theGEP should be analyzed in the design analysis. Research questionsfocusedon:

- Whatisthestatusquoofgenderpolicyimplementation?- Whichorganizationalgendertargetshavebeensetup?- WhichGENERAactivitieshavebeenexecutedsofar(process,focusofGEP,awarenessabout

GENERA,actors,communication,micro-practices)?- WhatareintendednextstepsinGENERA(focusofGEP,plannedstepsforimplementation)?

3BalthasarA.(2011):CriticalFriendApproach:PolicyEvaluationBetweenMethodologicalSoundness,PracticalRelevance,andTransparencyoftheEvaluationProcess,GermanPolicyStudies,Vol7,No3,187–231.


- Whichchallengesareexpectedalongthenextsteps/implementationprocess?- Whichrelevantculturalaspectscanbeidentified(genderinphysicscomparedtootherfields,

genderinphysicsinothercountries,normsaboutsuccess/excellence)?

Basedontheseresearchquestions,aninterviewguidelinewasdevelopedandpresentedinParis inNovember2016duringtheJointSecretariatMeeting.

2.3.1. DataandAnalysisDifferentdatasourceswereusedfortheex-anteassessment,althoughtheanalysis inthisreport isbasedon interviewdataonly.Toprepare for the interviewseachpartnerorganizationwasstudiedbasedavarietyofdocuments,forexampleexistingGEPs,strategicplans,andorganizationalcharts.

A policy survey about the relevance, objectives and measures promoting gender equality wasproduced and distributed to all GENERA implementing partners. The data was analysed for eachorganization separately to get an overview on the status quo of gender equality policies. Thisresulted ina fact sheet summarizing the findingsof thepolicy survey foreachorganization,whichservedasabaselinefortheex-ante interviews.Thefactsheetsarenot included inthis report,butthemostimportantfindingsfromthepolicysurveyaresummarizedintheAnnex.

Interviews

This report is based on semi-structured interviews conducted forWork Package 3 of the GENERAproject. Interviews were conducted with each of the eleven implementing GENERA partnerorganizations.Inpreparation,GENERApartnerswereaskedtoselecttheintervieweesbasedonthedefinitionofsub-targetgroups:

• GENERAteammembersincludingimplementationmanagers• Management:headsofimplementingunits,researchgroups,institutions• HeadofHumanResourceManagement• EqualOpportunityOfficers• Otherstakeholderswhenrelevant

AninformationsheetwasprovidedthatGENERAmemberscouldgivetopotentialinterviewpartnersin order to provide basic information about the GENERA project and the evaluation. It was notpossibletofixinterviewswiththerepresentativesofallthesub-targetgroupsinalltheorganizationsbecause of the wide heterogeneity of partner organizations in terms of national context,organizationalcomplexity,managementstructure,andlevelofgenderawareness/knowledge.

GENERAteamswereresponsibleforthefinallistofintervieweesprovided;theevaluationteamdidnot interfere in the selection of interviewees. The interviews were conducted between mid-November2016andthebeginningofFebruary2017,partlyface-to-faceaspartofsitevisitstofiveGENERApartners.

Interestingly, the interviews did not only serve as a source for data collection, but had furtherfunctions: in institutions with little or no support the interviews were perceived as a signal thatgender in physics is on the European agendabecause theproject has been fundedunderHorizon2020.Itwasalsoarguedthatbyarranginginterviews,GENERAteammembersmanagedtoestablishnetwork ties to different target groupswithin their institution. Thiswas further an opportunity to


presentanddiscusstheaimsofGENERA.However,insomeorganizationdoingevaluationinterviewswasperceivedasattemptto‘control’theprogressinGENERA.


Table1:Overviewintervieweesbypartnerorganization

All

(n=102)Management

(n=29)HR(n=8)

GenderEqualityOfficer(n=15)

Others*(n=24)

GENERA**Team

Member(n=26)

F M F M F M F M F M F MCNR 3 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 0 1 1CNRS 3 3 1 3 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 0DESY 3 2 0 1 1 0 1 0 0 0 1 1Geneva 5 0 0 0 1 0 2 0 0 0 0 2IAC 5 4 0 3 0 0 2 0 1 0 2 1IFIN-HH 8 2 0 0 1 0 0 0 5 1 2 1INFN 6 8 2 6 0 1 0 0 2 0 2 1JU 4 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 2 0KIT 6 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 2 0 3 0MPG 9 3 0 2 0 0 6 0 1 1 2 0NWOFOM 13 14 3 7 1 3 0 0 7 3 2 1Total 65 37 7 22 4 4 15 0 19 5 18 8*= researchers,genderexperts,formermanagementstaff,policymakers**= all intervieweeswhoareGENERAteammembersarelistedhereandnot inanotherfunctionthattheymightalso

cover,e.g.GenderEqualityOfficerorHRmanager

All interviews (n=102) were transcribed and analyzed, using MAXQDA for basic coding, whiledeductiveandinductivecodingwasmainlydonemanually,readingandre-readingbasiccodingsandtranscripts. Where codes are used in this report, they reflect subjective perceptions of theinterviewees thatmay differ from facts or realities. For data protection reasons, transcripts havebeenanonymizedandencodedtwice.

After finishing theanalysis, thedraft versionsof thepartnerprofiles (chapter five to fifteen)weresent to the respective partner for feedback. Teams could comment and add facts that were notprovidedininterviews.

2.3.2. NodesignanalysisWhenconductingthefirstsitevisitinNovember2016itbecameevidentthattheGENERAteamhadnotyetdesignedanymeasures,therewereonlyvagueideasaboutwhatwillbedoneinGENERAandtheprocesstodecideonthiswasratherunclear.

Inthefollowingfiguretheupper line illustratestheprocessasoriginallyplanned:Besidethestatusquo analysis, the GEP or the gender equality measures (GEMs)4 are supposed to be designed,negotiated within the organizations and fixed at the time of the ex-ante assessment; theimplementationprocesscouldevenhavestarted.InmostGENERApartnerorganizationsideasaboutwhattoimplementwerenotdevelopedveryfar.Thedesignprocesswasfarfrombeingconcluded,it

4SomeGENERApartnersalreadyhaveaGEPimplementedandthereforemightimplementsomeadditionalgenderequalitymeasures(notincludedinaGEP).ThesegenderequalitymeasuresareshortenedbyGEM.


wasnotclearhowtodoit.Variousstepshavenotbeenmadeyet(redinthefigurebelow)oronlypartially(orangeinthefigurebelow).Onlytheinitialstepswerefinishedatthetimeoftheex-anteinterviews (green in the figurebelow), likeestablishing theGENERA teamor appointing /hiring animplementationmanager(IM).Atthistimeitbecameevidentthatadesignanalysisisnotpossibleintheex-anteassessment. Instead, the focuswasputon the challenges thatwerementionedat thevariousstepsrequiredbeforetheimplementationcanstart(seelowerline).

Figure1:Analysisofthedesignprocess

Thefocusintheactualex-anteassessmentwas,therefore,onidentifyingthedifferentstepsneeded,but which were not fully clear, to produce a functional design (of GEP or GEM) ready forimplementation;togetherwiththeunderlyingchallengesandpotentialforlearning.

Theex-anteassessmentcoveredhow(far)theGENERAteamandtheimplementationmanager(IM)wereestablished,whichobjectiveswereidentifiedtobeaddressedintheGEP/GEM.Theevaluationexamined the way GENERA has been communicated within the organization and what kind ofsupportandcommitmenthasbeensecured.ToestablishsupportwithinanorganizationforGENERAactivities from a group of relevant stakeholders in different (power) positions was identified as acrucialsuccessfactor.

When gender equality officers and stakeholders frommanagement andHR support the project ingeneral,andtheimplementationprocess,bydiscussinganddecidingonthenextsteps,theybecomeaveryimportant‘taskforce’.Thisstepisnotmandatory,butwehavelearnedintheinterviewsthatitcanbeveryeffective in facilitatingprogress.Ofcourse, it is important toknowaboutthedifferentstepsthatarerequiredtocreatethebestdesignforaGEPorfordifferentgenderequalitymeasures.For some interviewees it was unclear where the decisions aremade and how the next steps arearranged in detail. Finally, suggestions that were made need to be negotiated and decided onbetweentheGENERAteamandthepeopleintheinstitutionsresponsiblefordecisions.

This describes roughly the steps in the design process deduced from the interviews to illustratewhere challenges emerged, needs were formulated and learnings were provided. Of course thisprocessisnotlinearandthedifferentstepsareinter-related.Furthermore,eachorganizationhasa


differentstructureanddifferentprocedures,sotheprocessneedstobeadaptedtotheinstitutionalsetting.

Concerningneedsandmutuallearningithastobestatedthatwheninterviewswereconducted,theGENERAroadmap–whichdescribestheimplementationprocessinadetailedmanner–wasnotyetavailable.

3. InstitutionalizationofgenderequalityinGENERApartnerorganizations

As part of the ex-ante evaluation, an online policy survey was sent to all GENERA implementingpartners(seealso2.3.1).TheaimofthesurveywastofindoutmoreaboutthestatusquoofgenderequalityintheGENERApartnerorganizations.Itwasfocusedontherelevanceofthetopicaswellastheobjectivesandmeasurestopromotegenderequality.Theresultsservedasapreparationfortheex-anteinterviews,butarealsoimportantformonitoringtheprojectresults.

In this chapter an overviewof the formal level of gender equality implementation in theGENERApartnerorganizationsisgiven.Theinformationisbasedonthedataprovidedbytheorganizationsinthepolicysurvey.Moredetailsontheex-antestatusquoofgenderequalityplans,targets,policiesandmeasurescanbefoundintheAnnex.

Atthetimeoftheex-anteinterviewsfiveinstitutions(45%)alreadyhadimplementedaGEPforthewholeorganization(Table2).

Table2:GENERAorganizationswithaGEP

Theinstitutionalizationofgenderequality–bywhichwemeanthevariousbodiesorfunctionswithinan institution specifically responsible for gender equality – varies greatly between the GENERApartner organizations, depending on the legal framework, the power of these bodies and theiravailableresources,.Someorganizationsalreadyhaveastronginstitutionalizationofgenderequality(Table3).

Table3:Overviewongenderequalityinstitutionalization

Noinstitutionalization Someinstitutionalization StronginstitutionalizationNobodiesorfunctions

specificallyforgenderequalityBodies/functionsforgenderequalitybutverylimitedornobudgetandstaffforgender

Bodiesandfunctions(genderequalityofficers)aswellas

resourcesforgenderequality

GEPNoGEP

GENERAorganizationswithaGEP

GENERAorganizationswithoutaGEP

CNRS CNRIAC DESYINFN IFIN-HHKIT JUUNIGE MPG

NWO-I


equalityIFIN-HHJUNWO-I

CNRIACINFN

CNRSDESYKITMPGUNIGE

Another interesting fact is the number of gender equality measures that have been alreadyintroduced. As summarized in Table 4, there are organizations that have no gender equalitymeasuresinplacebuttherearealsoorganizations,whichhaveintroducedawiderangeofmeasures.

Table4:Overviewonnumberofgenderequalitymeasures(ofthosesuggestedinthepolicysurveyn=26)

Inactiveorganizations Activeorganizations HighlyactiveorganizationsNogenderequalitymeasuressofar

1-10implementedgenderequalitymeasures

>10implementedgenderequalitymeasures

IFIN-HHJU

CNRIACINFNUNIGE

DESYKITMPGNWO-I*

NodataavailableforCNRS*inthiscaseonlyreferstoFOM

Pleasenote that Table3 and4 summarize the institutionalizationofmeasures topromote genderequalityintheGENERApartnerorganizations.Therefore,theinformationonlyreferstowhatisdoneanddoesnotdisplaythegenderequalityindifferentinstitutions.Highlyactiveorganizationsdonotnecessarily have higher gender equality or higher participation of women in physics thanorganizationswithnogenderequalitymeasures.

4. PotentialFieldsofInterventionforGEPs

ThischapterdiscussespotentialfieldsofinterventionthatmightbeaddressedinthevariousGEPs.Inallpartnerorganizationsthereareon-goingdiscussionswhattodoandhowtodecideonthefocusofaGEP. Somepros and cons, some factorsof success andnon-success thatwerementioned in theinterviewsarepresentedheretoenable learningforotherpartners.Basedonthe interviewstherecouldbe identifiedthe“hottest topics” inallGENERApartnerorganizations, i.e. thefields inwhichinterventionsareneededmostinordertopromotegenderequality.

Table 5 shows a ranking of the various fields of intervention that were discussed in the GENERApartner organizations. The ranking is based on the number of GENERA partnerswhere the topicswerediscussedintheex-anteinterviews.

Table5:OverviewFieldsofIntervention(rankedbyimportance)

FieldsofIntervention1. Careresponsibilities2. Attractmoregirls/womentostudyphysics3. Attractmorefemaleresearcherstoapply4. Unconsciousbias5. Positiveactions,quota


6. Sexualharassment7. Excellence/assessmentindicators8. Selectioncommittees

Some organizations already have introduced measures in various fields of intervention and theirexperiencescanbevaluabletotheotherGENERApartners,asdiscussedbelow.

4.1. Attractmoregirls/womentostudyphysics

ToincreasetheshareoffemalephysicistsisthemainaimofmajorityofGENERApartners.Buttheyallfacethebottleneckthatonlyalimitednumberoffemalephysicistsarecurrentlyavailable:“thereisacompetitionforwomennow”(P1_IP17).Besidesattractingwomenfromabroad,oneimportantfieldofinterventionistofosteroutreachactivitiestoschools(thismaybedoneincooperationwithotherstakeholderswhoinsomecountriesarealreadyveryactive),ortousesocialmedia.

Femalerolemodelswerementionedasanimportanttooltodemonstratethatphysicsisandcanbedonebywomenequallysuccessfullytomen.Exhibitions,bookletswithportraitsorpresentationscanraise awareness and attention. At the same time, some critical remarkswarned that this form ofpresentingfemalerolemodelscouldreinforcethestereotypethatwomeninphysicsareexceptional.Whenoutreaching to schools, thepresenceof femalephysicists shouldbeperceivedasa ‘natural’careerchoice.

Adviceby schoolteachershasbeenmentionedas an important sourceof encouragement for girls.HowfarGENERAcoulddoanythingforschoolteacherswasnotdiscussedintheinterviews,butcouldbe included insomerecommendationsaddressing institutionsthat trainphysics teachers,andmaybepartoftheGENERANetwork.

4.2. Attractmorefemaleresearcherstoapply

AnotherfieldofinterventionwhereRPOscanbecomeactiveistoinvitefemaleresearcherstoapplyforvacantpositions.Forthispurpose,jobadvertisementsshouldbeformulatedinagender-sensitivelanguage,alsotakingintoaccountresearchfindingsonwhatkindofadvertisementscanattractmorewomentoapply.Femalephysicistsarguedthattheyappreciatetobesupportedandinvitedtoapplyby thesupervisororboss.Managersalsohavearguedthat thesituationchangesassoonasgroupleaderstrusttheirfemalegroupmembersandencouragethemtotakeovermoreresponsibilities.

It would be helpful to have an online database of female physicists5 to have better access topotential female applicants, but also to invite female physicists for reviews or committees.Furthermore, it could be used when researchers are needed for interviews or articles or any PR-activities. Thiswouldmake female physicistsmore visible. This database could be linked to or bebased on already existing databases. When maintained well, it would be a sustainable GENERAoutcome.

5AnexampleistheAcademiaNetdatabasecreatedandmaintainedbytheRobertBoschFoundation,www.academia.net


4.3. Positiveactions,quota

Topromotetheunder-representedsex(=positiveaction)isalongdiscussedinterventiontoraisetheshare of the minority. Interestingly, this approach was often raised by the interviewees, mainlyarguingthataquick(er)changeformoregenderequalityisurgentlyneededandthattherighttimeisnow.PositiveactionasaninstrumenttoincreasethepercentageoffemalephysicistsisatopicwherecommoneffortsoftheGENERAconsortiumarerequired.

Quotaregulationsareoneformofpositiveaction.Theyaremainlydiscussedforthecompositionofselection committees. Quite a number of female physicists in senior and leading positions havearguedthattheyhadneverbeeninfavorofquotasbefore,buttheynowrealizethatchangewillbetooslowwithoutpositiveactionsandthatarealimpactisneeded.ItwasstatedthatquotasshouldberequestedonaGENERA-widescope:AsGERI.4isapoliticalprogramwithaclearpoliticalaim,analliance should be built to promote this topic. “GENERA should give STRONG recommendations6.”(P5_IP2).AGENERAdocumentshouldbeproducedandlaunchedwhichcanbeusedineachpartnerorganization to support managers (willing or forced) to use positive actions for increasing thenumberoffemalephysicistsorengineers.Thiswouldbringanaddedvaluethatistwofold:

- GEPsintheGENERApartnerorganizationswouldbemoreinnovativeandambitious(maybealsobraver!)TheGenderExpertBoard(GEB)wasalsoaskedtoprovidesupportintermsofpositiveactionsandstandardsforinnovativemeasurestobeimplemented.

- Managementpersonnelwhoarelookingformorewomengetsupporttoactinthisway.

Somepartnerorganizationspracticepositiveactionsinformallyorexplicitly.NWOintendstoincreasegenderbalanceandtohiremorewomen.Somewomenwhoareactivelyaddressedbecauseoftheirsextendtodislikethis,becausetheyfeelreducedtotheirsex.Itseemsanimportantlearningthatabetter argumentation and communication about WHY women are wanted/preferred need to beoffered. Respectively women should have some gender awareness to understand the structuralaspectsofgenderinequalityinphysicsthataffectthem.

4.4. Unconsciousbias

Unconscious bias can be described as a kind of ‘star’ among the different fields of interventionsfavouredby institutions, and among themeasures discussed in the interviews. In variousGENERApartnerorganizationsitseemstotallyclearthatthisissomethingthatneedstobedoneorhasbeendonealready.Takingtheunconsciousgenderbiastestshowsthatalmostallpeoplearebiased.Thisresult does not blame anyone in particular; it makes it easy for scientists to acknowledge that aproblem exists. It was argued that this form of awareness raising meets well the rationale ofphysicists:“itlooksverymuchasaphysicsexperiment”(P10_IP4).Andasphysicistsareusedtosolveproblems,biastrainingprogrammesarewellaccepted.InsomeGENERApartnerorganizationstheyarealreadyofferedtomanagementstaffandmembersofselectioncommittees,sometimesalsotoresearchers.

Tomakebiastrainingsmandatoryhasnotbeenpossiblesofarinanyorganization.Itwasarguedthatcommonstandardswouldbeveryhelpful,whichspecifythequalityofsuchtrainings(Howlong?Forwhom?Mandatoryornot?).6EMBOandtheRobertBoschFoundationproducedthe“ExploringQuotasinAcademia”report,August2015


4.5. Excellence/assessmentindicators

Excellence or rather the gendered character of scientific excellence was discussed in variousinterviews.What is perceived as excellent is historically rooted in how physics has been done inenvironmentsdominatedbymen.Verydifferentpositionshavebeenformulatedonthedifferencesbetweenmenandwomendoingphysics.Commonfeatures includetheattributionthatwomenareless likely to compete, sell theirmerits lower, are lessable to travel, andare thus less visible (seemore in deliverables of WP2). This needs to be verified and taken into account when assessingpersonal performances. How criteria are defined and how they are weighted needs furtherreflection.

Itwasalsodiscussedonagenerallevelifthewayhowphysicsisdone(time-consuming,competitive)is healthy for anyone, but rather, if it leads to really innovative research and can be sustainable.Here, GENERA could have an impact: “We need to develop argumentation that productivity andexcellence do not mean: working 24 hours.” (P5_IP2) This brings the discussion to gender-fairselectioncriteria,whichneedtobedeveloped,andtoamoretransparentselectionprocess.

Nevertheless,thereareanumberofintervieweeswho(still)donotseeanylinkbetweengenderandexcellence andwho lack any awareness of the gendered constructionof scientific excellence. Thiscanbesummedupby‘Genderdoesnotmatter,weselectthebest’.

4.6. Selectioncommittees

Women in selection committees are an active field of intervention in somepartner organizations;various regulations are in place, like the committee should have at least onewoman, always twowomen or 30%women. It was reported thatwomen often reject to be nominated due to higherworkloadandbecausetheyarenotacceptingtobeselectedonlybasedontheirsex.

Thenagain,tomaketheselectionmoreattractiveandtoincreasetheimpactofnominees,womenshouldbeempoweredbeforejoiningcommitteesandcouldbeinvitedforgenderand/ornegotiationtraining.

CriticalFriend’sideas/recommendations:

è How can GENERA provide for gender-fair selection procedures? Can GENERA developcommonstandardsorsuggestions(listofcriteria)tobeimplementedinGEPs?

è GENERA should enforce the presence of GENDER equality experts / expertise incommissions.


è GENERAshoulddefinequalitystandardsforunconsciousbiastrainingsinphysics.è GENERAshouldcollect thebestgenderbiastestsorproduceoneof theirown,specificforthe

physicsfield,addressingstereotypesandworkingpatternsthere.AllGENERApartnersshouldtrytomakethemcompulsory.


Tocompensatefortimelossduetocommitteeobligations,differentregulationsexist,likeprovidinga researchaidor reducing teachingobligations. ItwasalsoarguedthatcommitteeworkshouldbebettervaluedintheCVs.

4.7. Careresponsibilities

Care responsibilities are still seen as a crucial factor in limiting career opportunities of femalephysicists. To structurally change this situation, itwas suggested that all GEPs should address thetopicofgenderrolesandincludemeasurestoinvolvemoremeninchildcareresponsibilities.

A specific topic in the field of physics is to reconcile childcare and travel needs (not only toconferences but also to where the necessary research equipment is). Women report they havecomplexcarenetworks,often includingextended familydueto lackofpublicchildcare.Othersarenot able to travel due to children at home. A special need of female physicists is to havereimbursementregulationsfornannieswhotraveltoconferencestocareforthechild(ren).

4.8. Sexualharassment

Sexual harassment was mentioned in various GENERA partner organizations and was highlyrecommended as a field-wide action to be addressed by GENERA. Measures suggested areawareness trainings, which could be rather short, like a one-hour-online-course, butwhichwouldincrease the awareness for any other forms of unintended discrimination. An ombudsman-officeshould be created in each institution, as a position outside the hierarchy. Also a code of conductcouldbedevelopedonthistopic.

The following chapters describe the status quo of gender equality in the GENERA partnerorganizations. Important features of the national/cultural context are summarized, as well as theinstitutional context and the institutionalization of gender equality so far. Afterwards a briefoverviewoftheworkinGENERA,theimplementationteamandspecificchallengesisgiven.Finally,themostimportantfieldsofinterventionarelistedwereGENERAwill,could,orisexpectedtotakeaction. Important discourses and experiences are also described in order to provide a learningenvironment,andinspireotherinstitutionsintheGENERANetwork.

As this report is a summaryof the findings inD3.2only themost important factsand findingsareincluded.


è GENERAshouldoffertrainingsforfemalecommitteemembers.è GENERAshouldcreateanetworkforrecruitmentofwomenfromexternalinstitutionstoavoid

thatwomenareoverloadedinoneinstitutionasmembersofselectioncommittees.


5. Statusquo:NationalResearchCouncil(CNR)7

5.1. National/culturalcontext

AstheeconomicsituationinItalyisstilldifficult,fewerpermanentpositionsareavailableduetocutsinresearchfunding.Itwasarguedthatprecariousnessofworkaffectswomenmore,andmorefixedpositionsgotomaleapplicants.

5.2. Institutionalcontext

CNR is thebiggestresearchorganization in Italy,butwomen in leadingpositionsarestill rare,only15% of institute directors are women. There are no women among the leaders of physicsdepartments. At the moment there is no gender action plan in place but CNR has established aCommitteeforEqualOpportunitiesandRightsofEmployees(ComitatoUnicodiGaranzia)followingalegalrequirement.Ingeneralalackofawarenessforthetopicofgenderequalityonthelevelofthecentraladministrationwasreported.

5.3. GENERAimplementation

ThebiggestchallengefortheGENERAteamhasbeentopromotetheprojectwithintheorganizationandtofindsupportatthetopmanagement.Thiswasseenasprerequisiteforfurtherprogressandacrucialnextstep.

At thetimeof the interviewsonly limitedcontactswithPhysicsdepartmentshadbeenestablishedandno focus for thedesignof theGEPhadbeen identified.However, some ideasaboutpotentialactivitieswerementioned. Goal: have a GEP designed at the end of the project’s lifetime for thewholeorganization(noactivitiesimplemented).

5.4. GENERAFieldsofIntervention

(1) IncreasenumberofwomeninleadingpositionsTop management positions depend much on networks to the central office which are easier toestablish formale researchers. Having women in leading positions could start a positive dynamicleadingtoevenmorefemaleleadersandachangeintheorganizationalculture.

(2) MobilityResearchers – especially female researchers – are often marginalized after staying abroad forexperiments.AnideawouldbetoassessCVsdifferently(valuingabroadexperience)orextendCNRcontractswhengoingabroad,sonottolosethetimeatCNR.

(3) GenderequalitymonitoringEstablishamonitoringtoolwithindicatorstomeasuregenderequalityandprogressonthetopic.

7Thisex-anteassessmentdoesnotincludetheperspectivesofthemanagementorHRofficers.


6. Statusquo:NationalCenterforScientificResearch(CNRS)


In 2012, a national law in France imposed quotas forwomen’smembership in selection boards /committeesforeachpositionattheuniversitywhichappliesforCNRS.Thegoalistohave40%oftheunderrepresentedsexincludedinselectioncommittees.

That the share of female physicists is not higher in France was explained by a traditional careerchoice.


CNRS is a large public research organization, covering all fields of research. Genderinstitutionalizationisatahighlevel.CNRSwasapioneerinFranceconcerningtheimplementationofagenderequalitystructureandestablishedagenderequalityoffice(GEO)(“Missionpourlaplacedefemmes”) already in 2001. There is also a Gender Equality Plan (GEP) for thewhole institution inplace and many measures for more gender equality have already been implemented (e.g.unconsciousbiastrainings,prizesforwomenandencouragementofwomentoleadetc.).Selectionproceduresandcommitteesareatthecoreofgenderactivities.Genderawarenessingeneralishighandthemanagementissupportingactionstopromotegenderequality.Yet,itwasstatedthatnotallemployeesaresensitizedandawareoftheexistinginstruments.

6.3. GENERAimplementation8

The GENERA team is led by a female physics professorwhowas not involved in gender activitiesbefore. Having a strong gender institutionalization established in CNRS, it could be a challenge toestablishafruitfulcollaborationthere.However,fromanevaluator’sperspectiveitwasassessedasimportanttolinkexistingknowledgeandexperienceswithintheinstitutionanddevelopitfurther.

AtthetimeoftheinterviewstheGENERAprojectwasnot(yet)visibleorknownwithinCNRSandthefocusofGENERAwasstillunclear.Another issue for theteamwas lackofsupport fromHRpeoplewhencollectingdataand,ingeneral,alimitedavailabilityofpeopletosupporttheproject.Thenextchallenges were to: specify arguments about the benefits of GENERA within the institution; getsupportfromthetopmanagementandCEO;todecidewhichmeasuresshouldbeimplemented(andwhy);andtonegotiatethemwiththemanagement.

AstherealreadyexistsaGEP,theteamwantstodevelopphysicsspecificmeasures.NoadditionalorphysicsspecificGEPisintended.


(1) IncreasenumberoffemalephysicistsAttractingmoregirlstostudyphysicsbyshowingthemhowphysicsisdoneandbyworkingwithrolemodelsapproachinggirlsatschool.Moreactionsshouldbedoneinschoolsandforundergraduate8CNRSwasthefirstpartnertobestudied(midNovember2016),thismightexplainpartlywhypreparationsfortheimplementationofGENERAactivitieswereonlyverylittledeveloped.


students.Also,better communicate thatCNRS tries to improveworking conditionsand to supportwomentohaveasuccessfulcareer.

(2) SupportyoungresearchersSupportyoungfemalephysicistsbyprovidingcareertrainingsandmentorship.

(3) ChildcaresupportHavemorechildcaresupport,attheworkplaceandonWednesdayafternoonaswellaswhengoingto conferences. The best form of support, it was suggested, was to reimburse costs for nanniesaccompanyingresearcherandchild/rentoconferences.

(4) SexualharassmentSexism/sexualaggression/sexualharassmentwaspointedouttobearelevanttopic,oftenbetweenPhDandsupervisor.Ideaswouldbetohaveanombudspersonintheorganizationthatisoutsidethehierarchy,tomakeaclearstatementthatthistopicisnolongeratabooandtooffertrainings.

(5) SelectionproceduresNetworks and informal support were reported as important when applying for leading positions.Womenwouldbenefit froma selectionprocedure lessbasedon informal,network-based support,butmorestandardizedandtransparentprocedures.Theywouldalsobenefitfrombeingencouragedandinvitedtoapplywhatcanbeseenassignalthatwomenarewantedinleadingpositions.

7. Statusquo:DeutschesElektronen-Synchrotron(DESY)


In2011,theJointScienceConferenceoftheFederalGovernmentandtheGovernmentoftheLänderintroduced the so called CascadeModel to establish realistic, discipline-specific and career-stage-specifictargetsforgenderequalityinresearchperformingorganizations.Thenon-universityresearchorganizations have committed themselves to implementing the Cascade Model with ambitioustargetsandsupportingtheachievementofthesetargetswithdifferentmeasurespromotinggenderequality. DESY as part of the Helmholtz Association is committed to motivate and monitor theirresearchcenterstoimplementtheCascadeModelandtoreachtheirself-definedtargets.


At DESY, gender equality is managed by the gender equality officer which is a staff positionsubordinate to the board of directors. Additionally, a committee of women representatives isresponsible for equalopportunities forwomen.Generally speakinggenderequalitywork ismostlydirectedatwomen.

GenderequalityisanimportanttopicatDESYatthistime.Onefocusofthegenderequalityworkisrecruitmentprocedures.Withtheintroductionofthecascademodelin2012DESYhassettargetsfortheparticipationofwomeningroupswithdifferentstatus,whichshouldbereachedin2017.Thesetargetsaremonitoredonannualbasisandtheresultsarediscussedbymonitoringgroupconsistingofhigh-levelrepresentativesofdifferentdepartments,andthemanagement.Newtargetsfor2020have been set in coordination with the gender equality officer, the board of directors and the


foundationcouncil.Toreachthe2017andthe2020targets,asetofmeasureshasbeendevelopedandimplemented.

AlthoughgenderequalityisconsideredrelevantforDESYtopresentitselfasanattractiveemployerandamodernresearchorganization,someintervieweesmentionedthatDESYstilldoesnotrealizeitsfull potential and that not everyone is highly committed to improve the status quo of genderequality.


AtthetimeoftheinterviewstheprocessofengagingstakeholderswithinanorganizationseemedtohaveonlystartedanditwasdescribedasanimportantnextsteptoidentifytherelevantinstitutionalactorsandinvolvetheminGENERA.Fromanevaluator’sperspectiveitseemsofspecificimportanceto establish cooperation between GENERA and local gender equality officer. Responsibilities andcommoninterestsshouldbeclarified.

TargetsandbenefitsofGENERAfortheorganizationwereuncleartostakeholders,andtheprojectwaspartlyperceivedasaresearchproject,whichisnotreallyapartoftheorganizationalactivitiestopromotegenderequalityatDESY.

GENERAhascontributedtoahigherawarenessofthetopicatDESY,butstill,concernswereraisedbyseveral interviewpartners thatGENERA isnot so visible andwell knownwithinDESY so far.Moreefforts need to be invested inmakingGENERA and its objectives aswell as activitiesmore visiblewithintheorganization.

The GENERA team is aiming to develop a GEP for DESY, but internal stakeholders were not (yet)convincedof thebenefitsof introducingaGEPas therealreadyexista lotofmeasures forgenderequalityandthetopmanagementisalreadycommittedtothetopic.IfnodecisiononaGEPcanbeachieved, there should still beanextendedversionof theemployeedevelopmentplanwith somenew measures/policies implemented that improve gender equality at DESY and which arecomplementarytothealreadyexistingpolicymix.


IntheinterviewsatDESYnofocusonspecifictopicsorfieldsofinterventioncouldbeidentified,butinterviewees suggested a number of actions that could be implemented. Suggestions included:Gender bias trainings, mentoring, organization of a Girls Day, childcare programs, bettermanagementofcareerbreaks,policies to improve thesituationof temporarilyemployedstaffandpositiveaction.Itwasalsosuggestedtoinvolveandaddressmorestronglythemenandtoestablishanewstaffpositioninchargeofdevelopinggenderequalitypolicies.


8. Statusquo:InstitutodeAstrofísicadeCanarias(IAC)


In Spain public research organizations are requested by law to have a gender equality plan.Furthermore, there is a legal requirement that all selection committees / tribunals which selectcandidatesfrompost-doconneedtoincludewomen.

InSpainitisdifficulttobeselectedforapermanentpositioninaRPO.Usuallythisonlyhappensafterbeing40yearsold.Womenaredisadvantagedbecauseofmaternitybreaksordonotwanttowaitsolongforapermanentpositionandleavesciencebeforegettingone(usuallywhenhavingchildren).


IntheinterviewsthelegalrequirementtointroduceaGEPwasdiscussedcritically,arguingthatthereissometensionbetweenhavingaplanapprovedandreallyimplementingtheselectedmeasures.Itwasargued that institutionshavenoproblemwithapprovingGEPsbut that implementation is thechallengebecauseorganizationsoften lack staffwithappropriateexpertise/knowledgeandbudgetfortheimplementation.

Basedonthenational legalframework,someactivitiesforgenderequalityhavebeensetupatIAC(e.g.maternityleaveregulations,childcare,selectionprocedures,awarenessraising)andthegenderinstitutionalizationwasstrengthened.AGenderEqualityCommissionwasestablishedandafirstGEPwasimplementedfortheperiodfrom2010-2014.Asecondonewasapprovedin2016.ThefirstGEPhadambitiousaimsbutwaslackingimplementation,whichwasjustifiedasbeingcausedbythelackoftimeresources.

Increasing gender awareness was reported and in the interviews all management stakeholdersdeclaredtheirsupporttogenderpoliciesandGEPs.However,thereisalsolackofexpertisehowtoaddresstheexistingweaknessesinIAC.


TheGENERAteam iscomposedof theHeadofHR,amemberof theGenderEqualityCommission,andagenderexpertwhowashiredonlyforGENERA.ThiswayitshouldbeguaranteedthattheworkofGENERAandtheexistingstructuresarecoordinatedwellandthenecessarygenderknowledgeandimplementationexperience,aswellastimeresourcesareavailable.

Sofar,theGENERAteamfeelswellsupportedbythemanagementwhenputtingGENERAobjectivesintopractice.Someresistancewasreportedby(senior)maleandfemaleresearcherswhoquestionedthedataorthemethods.

TheGENERAtargetsarestillunclear.Amaintarget is to further increasegenderawarenessandtomakebetterknownwithinIACwhatisalreadyimplementedandavailable.AlsotheimplementationoftheexistingGEPisseenasimportant.Somoregendertrainingswillbeorganized;presentingtheGEPanddiscussingtheimplementationinpractice.



(1) ChildcareAs the lack of childcare support is still perceived asmajor barrier for female physicists’ careers inscience, GENERA will work to get more childcare support, also engaging men more in thisresponsibility.Supportisalsoneededwhencaringforelderly.

(2) Mobility&ExcellenceBeing abroad for experiments becomes more difficult for researchers with care responsibilities.Womenfeeldisadvantagedintheircareerbecausetravellingforprofessionalreasonsislesspossiblefor them,as they takeovercare responsibilities for childrenandelderpeople.Mobilityallowance,i.e.reimbursingchildcarecostswhentravellingtoconferencesorexperiments,wasdiscussedintheinterviewsasapossiblemeasure. Itwasalsosuggestedtoreflectonthenormoftravellingandonmobility as element of excellence. For example if you need to be in contactwith the community,Skypecanbeanoptioninsteadoftravelling.

The notion of excellence came up in several interviews andwas also critically discussed by someinterview partners. Generally, excellence and gender are seen as two separate notions withoutinteraction.Thusitwouldbeimportanttosensitizepeopleaboutthetopic.Itisalsorecommendedto develop a list of gender-fair criteria for recruitment, best in accordance with other GENERApartners.

(3) CareerbreaksItwasdiscussedinwhichwaycareresponsibilitiesandcareerbreaksduetomaternityleavecanbeintegratedintheevaluationofacareertrackandwhichindicatorscouldbeappliedtohaveagenderfairassessment.Discussionsareongoingaboutextensionregulationsforfemalepost-docsandhowtocompensatetimelossintheircareer.

9. Status quo: Horia Hulubei National Institute for R&D in Physics andNuclearEngineering(IFIN-HH)


The socialist past of Romania plays an important role for the high representation of women inphysics(andinSTEMingeneral). It isalsoanimportantfactorforthegeneralperceptionofpeoplethatmen andwomen are equal, that equality of opportunities already exists and that there is noneedforaction.However,womenatthedecisionlevelarestilllacking(ingeneral).

Accordingtothelaw,researchinstitutionsneedtohavesomebodyinchargeofoverseeingequalityof opportunity.At IFIN-HH theunion is doing this and is also reporting regularly about issues thatmightoccurinthefieldofgender-relatedequalopportunities.


ThereisacomparativelyhighrepresentationofwomenatIFIN-HHwith36%ofresearchersand17%ofHeadsofDepartmentsbeingwomen.Thestrongpresenceofwomenintheinstitutionimpliesalot


of rolemodels for young female researchers andmight lead to an organizational culture inwhichwomenfeelcomfortableandsupported.

At IFIN-HH no measures or structures are in place to promote gender equality. The generalperceptionattheinstitutionisthatthereareequalopportunitiesformenandwomenandthatthereisnoneedforaction.However,aleakypipelinebecomesvisibleinthenumbers.


Asgenderawarenessis low,themajorchallengefortheteamwillbetocreateawareness,developstrategiestoinvolveandconvincedecisionmakersandtodevelopargumentsfortheimplementationofaGEP. It is recommended tobuilda task forceandstrategicallianceswithin the institutionandwithimportantexternalstakeholdersinordertobeabletostarttheimplementationprocess.

It also became evident that further communication and awareness raising activities across theinstitutionwillbenecessarytocommunicateGENERAanditsobjectiveandtocreateawarenessforgenderequality.

Theteammentionedvarioustargetsreachingfromageneralunderstandingofgender (in-)equalityand interdisciplinary cooperation to raising awareness at themanagement level and developing aGEP. At the time of the interviews it seemed not clear if a GEP will be developed. There weredifferent opinions on the need for and benefits of a GEP. Also it was questioned if it would bepossibletogetthenecessarysupportfortheimplementation.


(1) WomeninleadingpositionsIn the interviews the phenomenon of a leaky pipeline and the low number of women in leadingpositions appeared as themost interesting for further investigationwithin GENERA. The fact thattherearefewerwomeninleadingpositionsisperceivedaswomen’spersonaldecisions.Allinterviewpartnersstatedthatwomenhavethesameconditionsandpossibilitiesasmenandthatthereisnodiscrimination or bias or stereotype that is causing the low numbers. This suggests a lack ofawarenessofthestructuraldimensionofgender(in)equality.

(2) Career&FamilySincethereexistnoregulationsforflexibleworkinghoursorsupportforchildcare,thereconciliationofworkandfamilylifehastobeorganizedindividually.Inpracticethepossibilitytoflexibleworkinghoursorworkingfromhomedependsonthesupervisorandseemstobeofteninformallyaccepted.However, itwas suggested that flexibleworking hours should be officially implemented. Althoughthecommonperceptionwasthatitispossibletohavechildrenandacareeritwasalsocommentedthatsomeyoungerfemaleresearchersareatriskofmissingtheopportunityofhavingafamily.Thelatter was seen as a phenomenon that would be interesting for further investigation. It was alsocommentedthat fathersmay facedifficulties/prejudiceswhentakingovercareresponsibilitiesandstayinghomebecausethegeneralopinionisthatwomen(notmen)shoulddoso.

(3) GenderawarenessandgenderbiasAs there is lowgenderawareness, itwouldbe important to takeactions to raiseawarenessaboutgenderequalityandgenderbias.


10. Statusquo:NationalInstituteforNuclearPhysics(INFN)


Due to a general post-crisis economic situation in Italy there are only few permanent positionsavailable. The lack of permanent positionswas argued to be a bottleneck in the career of femalephysicists in Italy: Positions are rare, highly competitive, and only available at later stage in thecareer.Sowomeneitherhavetowaitlongtogetapermanentpositionandthenhaveababylate(r)ortheydonotwaitandgiveupjoboratleastcareerperspectivesforachild.

ThisisonereasonwhyItalianfemalephysicistsoftenmovetocountrieslikeSwitzerland,GermanyorUS/GB,wheremorepositionsareavailableandthesearebetterpaid.Also,inthesecountriesthereisusuallymoresupport forchildcareandabetterwork-lifebalanceprovisionthan in Italianresearchorganizations.InItalyalackofadequatechildcarefacilitiesoftenimpliesthatwomenphysicistshavetochoosebetweencareerandfamily.Otherwomenquittheirjobtofollowtheirpartner(oftenalsophysicists)toanothercountry.

Ingeneral,womenarewellrepresentedinphysicsinItaly,butmainlyatthebeginningofthephysicscareerpipeline. Atschoolandatuniversitygirlsdowellbutwhileschool issupportive,theprivateenvironment seems less fond of daughters studying physics because it is perceived as difficult toreconcilewithfamilyduties.Atmoreseniorcareer levels,womenarepresent in increasinglyfewernumbers.


INFN isan internationally renownedpublic researchagency in the fieldofphysicsbased in severallocationsalloverItaly.Theproportionofwomenintopleadingpositionsisstilllow(below10%).

AtINFN,aninstitutionalstructureforgenderequalityexistswiththeCentralGuaranteeCommitteeforEqualOpportunities,EmployeeWellbeingandNon-DiscriminationatWork(CUG),establishedinthisformin2011.Basedonnationallaw,theCUGpreparesgenderequalityplans9.Thenextonewillbe prepared for 2018-2021. At the beginning of 2013 GENis-lab, an FP7 project in which INFNparticipated, has proposed some affirmative actions. Theproject offeredamongst others trainingsandHRtools.GENis-lab,togetherwithCUGactivities,helpedraisingawarenessforthegenderissueatINFNbuttherewasstillseenneedforfurtherawarenessraisingactivitiesastherearestillpeople(inleadingpositions)whodonotseeaproblematall.

Since2011INFNhastoapplynationallawthatrequiresatleastonewomanbeingpartofselectioncommitteesforpermanentpositions.Ifthepanelhassixormorepeople,twoormorewomenshouldparticipate.


WhensettinguptheGENERAteamtheregionalheterogeneityofINFNhadbeentakenintoaccount.Therearepeopleincludedwhohadnotbeenactiveingenderequalityworkbeforebutalsothehead9NationalInstituteforNuclearPhysics,CUG:ProposaloftheFifthINFNThree-YearPlanofPositiveActionsfortherealizationofequalemploymentopportunitiesbetweenwomenandmen,approvedinApril2015.


oftheCUGas implementationmanagerwhichguaranteescontinuityandcoordinationwithgenderactivitiesbeforeandparalleltoGENERA,butwhichalsoimpliestheriskoftooshorttimeresources(CUGcomponentsperformthistaskwithoutreducingtheirresearchworkload).

Atthetimeoftheinterviews,nodecisionshadbeenmadeaboutthemeasurestobeimplementedbyGENERAor/andtobeintegratedinthenextGEP.TheGENERAteamdidnotexpresscleartargets.It was seen as important to intensify the communication within the INFN GENERA team. Onesuggestionwastoadvancegenderequalityindifferentregionalunits.Asanimportantnextstep,thegoalsandplannedoutcomesofGENERAneedtobespecified.ThetopmanagementstatedtohaveamaximumofopennessfortheGENERAapproach.GENERAshouldoutlineproblems,objectivesandrespectiveinterventions,bestinavisualizedform.


(1) Selectionprocesses:unconsciousbiasEventhoughthereissomelegalbasisforafairselectionprocessintermsofgenderequalityontheonehand, andalthoughCUGhas alreadybeenworkingon this topic and concretemeasureshavebeen specified in the equality plan, on the other hand, the results are still poor. In the ex-anteinterviews conducted in January 2017, the dominant gender topic was in fact the (suboptimal)selectionprocedures.InSeptember2016INFNrecruitedanumberof73permanentpositionsafterarecruitment stop in the previous years.Only 7womenwere selected even though the number offemaleapplicantswasquitehigh.Asaconsequence,aworkinggrouphasbeenestablishedtoanalyzetheresultsandtheworkoftheselectioncommitteesandunconsciousbiashasbecomeanimportanttopictobeaddressed.

(2) Selectionprocesses:transparencyofcriteriaandprocessRelated to the selectionprocedures as an important topic in the interviews is transparencyof theselectioncriteriaandthewaycriteriaareapplied.

Sofar,groupleadersandtheiropinionsplayakeyroleinwhoisselectedforaposition.Itwasarguedthat gender-fair criteria should be formally defined to avoid gender bias and disadvantages forwomen in the selection processes. Transparency is also needed to improve the selection process.Establishing gender-fair criteria, monitoring and increased transparency was also expressed as anexpectationforGENERA,andthenextGEP.

(3) ExcellenceInthecontextofselectionprocedures,afurtherimportantdiscussionwasthenotionofexcellenceasamaleconcept.Whenscientificexcellenceisassessed,amaleimageofanexcellentphysicistcomestomind.This formandother ideasabouthowthe idealcandidate looks likecauseanunconsciousbias(notonlyagainstwomen,butagainstalldeviantsfromthisnorm),whichguidestheassessment.

(4) PositiveactionsformorewomenAsprogressisslowitwasdiscussedtoimplementmeasuresforwomenonly,e.g.post-docpositionsreserved forwomen, prizes for young female researchers or grants forwomen coming back frommaternityleave.


(5) ChildcareandawarenessforchanginggenderrolesFinally raising awareness for changing gender roles was mentioned as important topic to beaddressed by GENERA. GENERA should suggest measures that address male researchers andencourage them to take over care responsibilities. This would better enable female physicists tocontinue their scientific career after having children. It was also suggested to offer measures tosupportcaringresearchers(e.g.mobilityallowance,childcarefacilities).

11. Statusquo:JagiellonianUniversityinKrakow(JU)


Accordingtoresearchtherearemorefemalephysicistsinpost-communistEuropethaninotherpartsof Europe. This is believed to be due to a low prestige of science and comparatively low wages.Gender equality is still rarely perceived as relevant in Polish society. Conservative values relatingwomenmainly tomaternity and care responsibilities, andmen to professional career andbeing abreadwinnerarestillcommonwithinPolishsociety,butthereisavisible,recentshifttowardgenderequalityattitudes10.Familysupportisstillneededforreconciliationofworkresponsibilities.

Thereisnolegaldocumentregulatingtheissueofgenderandscience.Ingeneralitmightbestatedthat the Polish government is very reluctant to incorporate the values of gender equality into itsshort-andlong-termplansforpolicies.


The Instituteof Physics is locatedwithin the Faculty of Physics,AstronomyandAppliedComputerScience which has now a female Dean. Only 4% of full professors at the Institute of Physics arefemale.

AttheJagiellonianUniversityinKrakowtheawarenessforgenderequalityisratherlow,nospecificstructuresormeasuresforgenderequalityareimplementedsofar.Genderequalityisaddressedaspartofbroaderanti-discriminationprogrammes.Regardingmeasurestofacilitatework-lifebalanceitwasreportedthatveryflexibleworkinghoursareprovided.Additionally,theJagiellonianUniversityprovidesparentswithpreschoolandnurseryfundingpossibilities.


AllGENERAteammembersarebasedintheInstituteofSociology,mostofthemworkinginthefieldofgenderstudies.TheteammanagedtoestablishcommunicationstructuresbetweentheGENERAteam (Institute of Sociology) and the Institute of Physics where the team identified one personresponsible fordirectcommunication.The teamalsocommunicatedwithvariousstakeholdersand

10Seee.g.KrzaklewskaE.,SlanyK.,CiaputaE.,KowalskaB.,RateckaA.,Tobiasz-AdamczykB.,WaratM.,WoźniakB.,2016.GenderEqualityandQualityofLifeinPoland.ASurveyResearchReport.Krakow:JagiellonianUniversity,availableat:http://www.geq.socjologia.uj.edu.pl/documents/32447484/35419405/GEQ%20ENG.pdf


identified the Rector’s Proxy for Student Safety and Security as an important supporter of theproject.

The teamhadplanned todesign theGEPonlyata later stage in theprojectandonly vague ideasexistedsofar.ItwasnotdecidedyetiftheGEPwillbedesignedforthewholeuniversity(preferredoptionoftheteam)oronlyfortheInstituteofPhysics.

ThecorechallengefortheteamistoovercomethelackofawarenessandinterestingenderequalityissuesattheInstituteofPhysicsandthereluctance/distancetotheideaofplanninggenderequalitymeasures.Itwasdescribedasapre-requisitefortakingfurtherstepstoraiseawarenessconcerningthesourcesandstructuraldimensionofgenderinequalities.Authoritiesatthefacultystillhavetobemadeawareofthetopicandtakeitonboard.

TheJUGENERAteamstillhastoworkonmakingtheGENERAprojectwellknownandacceptedintheInstituteofPhysics.Inthiscontextitisalsochallengingthattheteammembersarefromadifferentinstituteandnotpartofthephysicscommunity.


(1) AwarenessforgenderequalityThe biggest challenge at the Jagiellonian University is the lack of awareness for the structuraldimension of gender (inequality) and the cultural resistance towards topics related to gender andgenderequality.Accordingtointerviewpartners,theauthoritiesdonotseeanyproblemsofgenderdiscriminationanddonotprioritizegenderequalityintheworkplacepolicies.

Soforputtinggenderontheagenda,dataontheshareofwomeninthefieldandinleadingpositionscould be presented as well as an overview about measures implemented in other GENERAorganisations.

12. Statusquo:KarlsruheInstituteofTechnology(KIT)


InGermanygenderequalityandespeciallytheparticipationofwomeninresearchweredescribedashaving high political relevance. Big funders, like the German Research Foundation (DFG) orMinistries, pay attention to gender equality and claim actions. Universities inGermany are legallyrequiredtodevelopandimplementagenderequalityplan.Therearealsoregulationsinplaceforthenon-universityresearchorganizationsliketheHelmholtzAssociationtowhichKITbelongs.(Formoreinformationonthisseechapter7.1.)

Despite thesetargets,womenarestillunderrepresented inphysics.Tworeasonsmentioned in theinterviewsarethelowprestigeofphysicsasasubjectandunderdevelopedinfrastructuretosupporttheparticipationofwomeninthelabourmarket.



KIThasalreadyestablishedstructuresandabroadrangeofmeasures topromotegenderequality.The diversitymanagement team in the HR department is in charge of the strategic work for andimplementation of gender equality. Based on a legal requirement there have also been equalopportunityofficersestablishedwhoparticipateinrecruitmentprocesses,appointmentcommitteesandotherbodies.ACommitteeforEqualOpportunitiesandDiversityhasbeenalsosetup.

KITislegallyrequiredtohaveagenderequalityplan(GEP).ThefirstGEPwasimplementedin2014and is binding until the end of 2018. All five divisions of KIT are supposed to make a writtenstatementregardingthecurrentgenderequalitysituationintheirdisciplines.ThesestatementsarepartoftheGEP.

Theproportionofwomenislowinallcareerstages,butKITaimsatincreasingtheshareofwomenand creates annual gender monitoring reports summarizing measures taken and progress made.Therehavealreadybeenimplementedawiderangeofmeasuresforgenderequality(e.g.mentoring,telework,childcare-facilities,gender-sensitivepublicitycontent).

Still, interviewpartners identified room for further improvement especially regarding thepracticalimplementationofmeasuresand the levelofawarenessandengagementat thedivisional level. Itbecameevidentthatnotonlymeasuresbutalsoculturalchangeisneeded.


SincetheHeadofDiversitymanagementandoneofherstaffarepartoftheteam,theactivities inGENERAaredirectly linked toexistingstructures.At the timeof theex-anteassessment, the teamhadalreadyheldaGenderinPhysicsworkshopandGENERAprogresswascommunicatedinternally.

Asthereexistsalreadyavalidinstitution-levelGEPtheteamdecidedtofocusontheimplementationof newmeasures, which are tailored to physics/physicists. Recruiting and networking will be thefocusof theseactivities.Within the scopeofGENERA theaim is to identifyand integrate selectedappropriatemeasuresinthenextGEP.

Itwasdescribedasachallengetogetpeopleinvolvedandmotivatethemtoactivelyparticipateandcontribute toGENERA.However, it couldbeanopportunity touseGENERA to strengthen internalnetworksandthelinkbetweenthecentralanddivisionallevels.

Anotherchallengeisanincreasing“genderfatigue”.Astherehasalreadybeendonealottopromotegenderequality,peoplearegettingtiredofthetopicandoppositionisincreasing.Thismakesitchallengingtoimplementfurthermeasureseventhoughgenderequalityisnotreachedyet.


(1) Recruitmentandwomen’scareersThebiggest gender challengeatKIT is to increase theproportionof femalephysicists at all careerstages.Astheproblemalreadystartswiththelownumberoffemalestudents, it isagoalofKITtoattractmoregirls to studyphysics.Another issue iswomen leaving sciencecareersbecauseof jobuncertainty,which is relatedtothe lackofmid-levelacademicfacultypositions. Inthiscontextthepost-docphaseseemstobethemostcrucial:itiswhenwomendecidetoleavescience.


(2) LowgenderawarenessandgenderbiasItwas stated that in physics an “old fashioned thinking” can be identified and it is perceived thatwomen still face a double-standard and have to work harder to succeed. Even when women doexcellentresearchtheirexcellencetendstoberelativized,ortheirworkunderrated.Intheinterviewsit became obvious that the existence of gender equalitymeasures is not enough if organizationalculture,orindividualsuperiors,counteracttheirimpact.

(3) Work-lifebalanceandculturalchangeKIThasalreadyimplementedanumberofmeasurestofacilitatework-lifebalance,whichcanbeusedby bothmen andwomen.However, practice shows that thosemeasures are not effective, or areunder-usedincaseswereorganizationalculture,ormanagers’ lowgenderawareness,opposetheirusage.Inthiscasethechallengeistoraisegenderawarenessandchangetheorganizationalculture.

The need for international cooperation and work outside of the standard working hours weredescribedasachallengeforresearcherswithcareresponsibilities–especiallyforwomenwhooftenfinditmoredifficulttoarrangeprivatelifeaccordinglyandsometimesdecidetolookforothercareerpaths.Inthecontextofwork-lifebalanceandchildcareresponsibilitiesitwasperceivedasimportanttoaddressbothwomenANDmen.

(4) MobilityallowanceDue to the current legal situation it is very difficult to organize childcare or funding for childcarewhentravelling(forexampletoconferences). Itwassuggestedthatespeciallyforyoungmothers itwouldbeimportanttoprovidebettersupportandmoreflexibility.

(5) SexualharassmentThereexistcasesofsexualharassment,butKIThasalreadyestablishedawell-functioningstructureto deal with those (e.g. guidelines, gender equality officers and the Vice President for HumanResources).

13. Statusquo:MaxPlanckSociety(MPG)


The situation in Germany was reported to be particularly bad in terms of numbers of women inphysics.NaturalSciencesareregardedasmasculinedomainsinGermanyandalreadyinschoolsgirlsarelesspresentinadvancedcoursesinnaturalsciencesthanboys.Furthermore,societalfactorslikelackofchildcareinfrastructurecontributetothelownumberofwomeninphysics.

The lack of women in leading positions has already been recognized in Germany and there isincreasingpressurefromresearchfunderstobringmorefemaleresearchers into leadingpositions.Asthereisalreadyalongstandingdebateongenderequality,ithasbeendescribedaschallengingtokeepthetopiccurrent(“genderfatigue”).


AtMPGwomen,historically,havebeenandstillareunderrepresented.Especiallythemanagementisverymaledominated.TheMPGhasmadeavoluntarycommitmentin2012toincreasethenumber


offemalescientists.Italsorecognizedtheproblemofthelackofwomeninleadingpositionsandhasestablishedgoalsandmeasurestoaddressthis.

TheMPGhasawell-establishedstructureforgenderequality.Ithasacentralgenderequalityofficer(GEO) as well as gender equality officers at all institutes. At the central there is a PermanentPresidential Committee “Opportunities”11 which is chaired by the vice president of the humansciencesection.

Gender equality has not been amain strategic target ofMPG in former days, but at themomentthereisalotofactivityandmomentumforgenderequality.DuringtheruntimeofGENERAtheMPGpresidentreinforcedtheobligationofallinstitutestoimplementGEPs,whichexistedsince2008.

The overall aim of gender equality policies at MPG is to transform the culture of this researchorganization. However, triggering (cultural) change in the different institutes and creating genderawarenessisstillachallenge.


ThecentralGEOofMPGispartoftheGENERAteamwhichimpliesthattheprojectisdirectlylinkedtotheexistinggenderequalitystructuresandfunctions.Furthermore,theteamcanbuildonalreadyestablishedpersonalrelationsandnetworkstotheMPGmanagementandacrosstheinstitution.

DuetointernalpressurethereiscurrentlyhighinterestamonginstitutestodevelopandimplementGEPs.GENERAhasthechancetousethismomentumandsupportthreeinstitutesindevelopingtheirGEPs.Thisisalsothemaingoaloftheteam.

Atthebeginningof theGENERAprojecttheteamapproachedthethree institutesandsecuredthecommitmentoftheinstitutedirectors.However,mostinterviewpartnersarguedthatatthetimeoftheinterviewsonlylittleinformationaboutGENERAhadbeenprovided.

Astargetsandmeasuresneedtobespecifiedineachofthethreeimplementinginstitutes,itwillbeimportanttoestablishgoodcollaborationswithdivisionalgenderequalityofficers.Atthetimeoftheinterviews these officers still had to be taken on board and be informed about their role in theimplementationprocess.Astheyare inmanycasesnewtothepostanddonothaveresourcesfortheirwork,theyneedtobeempoweredandsupportedontheimplementationprocessaswellasontopicsfortheGEPbytheGENERAteam.


(1) RecruitmentoffemalephysicistsThe most discussed challenge in the interviews was the recruitment of women. Although someawarenessfortheunderrepresentationofwomenhasalreadybeenraised,itappearschallengingtosuccessfully increase theproportionof female researchers in thevarious institutes.Concrete ideashow to recruit women more successfully seem to be absent. Hiring processes differ betweeninstitutesandvaryfrominformaltoformalrecruitment.Accordingtointerviewpartnersrecruitmentprocesses lack transparency.Another issue is lackof careerprospects for young researchersanda

11InGerman:“StändigePräsidentenkommissionChancen”


highfluctuationofPhDsandPostdocs.Itwasmentionedasaspecificchallengeforfemalephysicistsisthatonlyabout50%ofallresearchersatMPGhaveapermanentposition.

(2) CulturalchangeThe research and academic systemwasdescribed as a “male system”optimized to train excellentmalescientistsinphysicsandnotwellsuitedtotrainfemalescientists.Thefundamentalaspectsofbeing a successful scientist were described as optimized for a person without any responsibilitytowardschildrenorfamily.TheincreaseinfemaleresearchgroupleadersinpostdocsatMPGaswellasthegeneralaimtoincreasethenumberoffemalephysicistsmakesitclear,thatculturalchangeisneeded.

(3) Career-familybalanceItwasstatedthatalthoughMPGofferssomesupportforfamilies,therearetwospecificneedstobeaddressed:Howtosupport femalescientistswithchildrenwhentravelling toconferencesorwhenhavingmeetingsintheafternoonorevening.

(4) DualCareerAsmanypostdocsandalsoseniorscientistsareinarelationshipwithanotherscientistdualcareerisa very relevant issue atMPG. Offering dual career options is specifically important to enable topfemale scientists fromabroad tomove toGermanywith their partner.MPGhas already started adualcareerserviceand isparticipating in localdualcareernetworks,butaccordingtoan interviewpartnerthisisstillataveryrudimentarystage.

(5) SexualharassmentSexual harassment has also come up as a topic in the interviews. Some institutes already starteddiscussionsoralsoactionstoaddressthisissue.

14. Statusquo: InstitutesOrganisationof theNetherlandsOrganisation forScientificResearch(NWO-I)12


Physics in theNetherlands ishighlysexsegregated.Theshareof femalephysicists is lower than inmost countries. The general employment situation is characterizedby ‘1.5earnermodel’wherebymenworkfulltimeandmostwomenworkpart-time.Aspart-timeishardlypracticedinresearchandchildcare facilities are lacking, combining a career and care responsibilities becomes a specificchallengeforfemaleresearcherswithchildren.


FOMaspartnerorganizationofGENERArecentlyunderwentare-organizationprocess:on1January2017FOMbecamepartoftheNWOInstitutesOrganisation,togetherwithotherNWOdivisions.Theformer FOM has been active in gender policies since the late 1990’s when the FOM/f program

12Before2017:FoundationforFundamentalResearchonMatter(FOM)


started, which provides postdoc positions to bridge the gap to a regular position for femalephysicists.Genderawarenessingeneralishigh(alsocomparedtootherGENERApartners).

Themainaimofgenderpoliciesatthemomentistoincreasethenumberoffemaleresearchers.Inmanagementpositionswomenarequitewellrepresented,butonly2outof18(11%)scientificgroupleadersarewomen.Arecentfocus isongenderbias.Besidesreflectingon individualbias it isnowthe main strategy at NWO to strive for (more) women in the research workforce as well as inselectioncommittees.

AtNWO-Ithereisnoformalgenderinstitutionalizationyet,suchashavingagenderequalityplanora function that takes care of equal opportunity issues, but in the former units a broad range ofgenderequalitymeasureswasimplemented(e.g.gendertrainingsforHRpeople,mentoring,filmstoraise awareness).Measureswere started bottom-up or top-down - often bywomen, in senior orleading positions, but more recently also by male directors who feel the need to change thesituation.Therefore,the,so-called,‘spraygunmethod’wasapplied:thismeansthatmanydifferentactionsare implementedatthesametimetomakefasterprogress inchanginggender imbalances.Thisapproachwasassessedasveryeffective, incontrasttotheoftenheardargumentthatnottoomuchshouldbechangedatthesametime.


Theexpectationistocheckandimprovethemeasuresalreadyinplaceandtodevelopthemintoamore formalized GEP. One of the core ideas here is to learn from other countries / GENERAinstitutions.

WhichmeasuresortopicswillbeincludedintheGEPandwhoisresponsibleforsuggestionswasstillunclear. The GEP should be targeted for NWO-I, taking into account different needs of differentinstitutes.IfpossibletheGEPcouldevenbeextendedtoallNWOinstitutes.Itwasnotclearyetiftheimplementationofmeasures can startduring the runtimeofGENERA. Itwas suggested touse thewindow of opportunity that NWO-I is now part of a new organisational structure and have theGENERA-GEPasapilotforfurtherGEPs.

ThehighcommitmentofmanagementpeoplewasmentionedasstrengthofGENERA.Therearealsoa lot of expectations towards the GENERA project. Therefore an efficient collaboration with thedirectorsshouldbeestablished.Cleartasksandresponsibilitiesneedtobedefined.

Asthereisalotimplementedalreadyandalothasbeendiscussed,itisexpectedthatGENERAmakestargets more precise soon and suggests concrete measures to implement. Synergies to existingmeasuresareexpected.


(1) WeakgenderInstitutionalizationAlthoughquiteabroadrangeofgenderequalitymeasureshavebeenimplementedatorganizationaland/orinstitutelevel,thereisnoformalgenderinstitutionalizationyet,likehavingaformalplanforgender/diversity or a function that cares for it, like a gender equality officer. The perception thatgenderisnotdonebysomeoneoutsidetheinstitutionalstructure(likeagenderequalityofficer),butbythemanagementhassomeadvantagesbutmayalsoface limitations.Fromagendertheoretical


pointof view it is a long-term target that gender aimsare fully integrated in formalpositions andprocessesandbythis,becomesustainable.

(2) LownumberoffemalephysicistsToincreasethenumberoffemalephysicistsingeneralandingroupleaderpositionsinparticularwasdiscussed as themain gender challenge at NWO institutes. Various reasonswerementioned thatcouldexplainwhywomenarerareandthatconsequently,couldbeaddressedbyaGEPorgendermeasures.Onemeasurementioned invarious interviewswas introducingaquotaformoregenderbalance.

(3) RecruitingpracticesAnothertopicdiscussedcontroversiallywaspracticesforactiverecruitmentoffemaleresearchers.Intheinterviewsitbecameobviousthatthewilltorecruitmorewomenandafocuson‘morebalancednumbers’ is a dominant issue. Directors are trying to actively recruit women and some recruiterstendtofavorwomen.However,so-calledpositiveactionsusedsofararefacedwithlimitationsandarealsopartlycriticizedbyfemaleresearchers.Therefore,currentpracticesshouldbeoptimized.Afocusoncriteriacanbesuggestedasanot-positive-actionpracticethatalsoaimstoincreasegenderbalance.

(4) WomeninselectioncommitteesIt is intended to have more women in selection committees and an informal practice has beenestablished to actively recruit women for selection committees. There is some critique on thispractice, as women who join and have to do all the committee work might have a worseperformance. Some women have reported that they felt bothered when they were approached,becausetheyfelttheywereonlyneededbecauseoftheon-goingdiscussiononnumbers.

(5) SupportforfemaleresearchersItwassuggestedtoprovidementoringandindividualcoachingtosupportfemalephysicists.

(6) MonitoringandsuccesscontrolTheexpectationraiseda fewtimesduring interviewswasthataphysicsspecificmonitoringshouldbeestablishedwithinGENERA.Thiswillenabletoidentifyweaknessesandwhathastobedoneinalong term perspective. An idea came up to restructure research funding by linking the gendermonitoringresultsdirectlytoresearchfundingforRPOs.

15. Statusquo:UniversityofGeneva(UNIGE)13


Switzerlandisanattractivecountrytomovetoforfemalephysicistsfromothercountries:somanyfemalephysicistsworkingtherecomefromabroad.Incontrast,thenumberofgirlsdecidingtostudyphysicsinSwitzerlandislow.Genderstereotypeshavebeenmentionedasimportantbarriers.13Noone fromthe topmanagementof theuniversityhasbeen interviewed, soexpectations fromUniversityrepresentativesmightbeunderrepresentedinthesefindings.


In the last decade awareness was raised regarding gender as a topic in scientific knowledgeproduction,ontheonehandbySNSF,asthemainresearch-fundingagency,ontheotherhand,bylaw,implementingastronggenderequalitypolicyatthefederallevel.AlluniversitiesinSwitzerlandarerequestedtohaveagenderactionplan(GAP)toimprovegenderbalance.


The University of Geneva’s first GAP concerned the period 2013-2016. Recently, the newlyimplemented GAP for the period 2017-2020 has been accepted by the rectorate and publiclyannounced.Itisbindingforimplementation.

The Faculty of Science at theUniversity ofGenevawasdescribed as verymaledominated, having93% male and only 7% female full professors. Traditionally, women are working more often inprecarious positions. So far, no specific gender equalitymeasures have been put in place for theFacultyofScience.


TheUniversity ofGeneva alreadyhas aGAP and a strong gender institutionalization. TheGENERAteam was successful in establishing strong ties to the Gender Equality Officers to find ways ofcollaborating with them in the future. It appears, GENERA team members were successful inreferringheavilyontheknowledgeandexperienceoftheestablishedstructures(theGenderEqualityOfficeandtheScienceCommissionforEquality),whilemakingalsoGENERAvisibletootherpartsofthe university. To make progress in GENERA, collaboration with institutionalized Gender EqualityOfficersoffersabettermechanismthantopsupportfromthemanagement.

AsageneralGAPisestablishedatuniversity levelalready,theideaistodevelopnotafullGEPbutphysics specificmeasureswithin the existingGEP. A focus for the implementation activities is stillneeded.


(1) SelectionprocessesFirst of all it was mentioned that the selection procedure for professorships, but also for otherpositions, has to be improved. Tomakemale aswell as femalemembers of selection committeesaware that gender bias in decision-making is widespread and needs to be challenged and thatGENERAcanhelpachievethisinGeneva.AsthisisalsoatopicintheGAPatuniversitylevel,someofthosemeasures could be adopted to the physics field throughGENERA.Unconscious bias traininganddiscussionsaboutexcellenceasamaleconceptwouldbeimportant.

(2) QuotasAnotherissuetobeaddressinGENERAthatisalsoalreadyinthegeneralUniversityGenevaGAParequotas.

(3) OtherTherewere also other ideasmentioned like: attractingmorewomen to study physics,mentoring,dual career support, childcare support, addressing gender bias at the administrative level andaddressingsexualharassment.


16. Policy learning: findings related to GENERA project and consortium(designandpractices)

Inthischapterwediscussmoregeneralfindingsoftheex-anteassessment,whicharerelevantacrossGENERA partner organizations. These cross-partner findings are presented in a short, precise andeasymanner,reflectingthediscourseandargumentationinrespecttothesetopics.

16.1. Mainexpectations

Oneoftheargumentsthatwasbroughtupmostoften,fromGENERAteammembersaswellasfromotherstakeholders,wasthatGENERAshouldprovidethepossibilitytolearnfromeachother,togetinsights in on-going activities for more gender equality in other research organizations. It wasdescribedasacrucialbenefittoshareexperiencesaboutwhatworksandwhatdoesnotinthefieldofphysics.Theseexperiences,fromotherphysicsunits,couldbeusedbytheGENERAteamstogaingreater commitment frommanagement to the project, either in general, or to implementation ofsomefieldsofaction, inparticular.Especially intervieweesfromGENERApartnerswithverylimitedgenderawareness so far argued that “weneedGENERA“, as itmakes visible that in theEuropeancontextagenderprobleminphysicsexistsandhowitisaddressedbyothers.

On the other hand knowing about what is done in other research organizations helps the onesdirectlyengaged in thedesignofGEPstogenerate ideas fornewmeasuresbeyondwhathasbeenalreadydoneand/orincludedinanexistingGEP.

Besidescomparingexperiencestoinformgenderpolicies,benchmarkingtootherGENERApartnersintermsofdataandnumberswasalsobroughtupasarelevantexpectationofGENERA:togetanidea how one’s own organization is placed compared to the other partners, e.g. regarding thenumber of women in leading positions, is of specific relevance for the management to raiseawareness for the problem and become committed to actions. It is also relevant for the GENERAteamwhenpreparingforthetargetsandaimsoftheGEP.

Beyondusingdataon therepresentationof femaleandmale researchersatdifferentcareer levelsandindifferentpositionsfortheGEPs,thisdataisalsorelevantfortheex-postevaluation.


è Organizehow(a)goodpracticesandmeasuresand(b)factorsofsuccessandofnon-successinpracticeareidentifiedintheGENERApartnerorganizations:whoidentifiesthemandwhobringsthemintoGENERA?Wheredoesthisexchangehappen?

è Organizeexchangeaboutthesefactors:ThisshouldhappenbeforeGEPsaredesigned.Whois responsible? Who participates: all GENERA members or only IMs? Is it done in IMmeetings?

è IntegratethesemeasuresandfactorsinpracticeinaGENERAtoolbox.è Buildworkinggroups toworkonspecific topicsandprovideknowledge/documents forall

GENERAmemberstodiscuss.


è Anoverviewof the representationof femaleandmale researchersatdifferentcareer levelsandindifferentpositionsperpartnershouldbeprovided(asanoutcomeofworkpackage2?).


FemaleresearchershavefurtherexpectationsthattheGENERAprojectwillbringsomechangeandreally make an impact at European level. In most partner organizations GENERA was called “animportantproject”, due to the size and theprestigeof thepartners. Thus,GENERA is expected toimprovethesituation(thegenderbalance):“IfGENERAwouldfail,thiswouldmeanastrongbacklashforgenderequalityinthiscommunity.”(P7_IP2)

16.2. Focusoftheproject

VariousGENERApartnerorganizationsarguedthatforthem,thefocusoftheprojectisnotclearyet.On the one hand this addresses the core implementation process. As GERI-4 projects are notresearchprojects,butimplementationprojects,itwasarguedthatnomoredatashouldbecollected,but the implementation phase should finally start. Implementation here means getting concretemeasures started as well as having a GEP ready for implementation. To have as many GEPs aspossible designed and ready to implement or implementation already on-going is seen as thepotentialoutcomehere.

OntheotherhandtheEuropean-wideimpactofGENERAisratherunclear.Someintervieweeshavequestioned:whatwillbedifferentinthephysicsfieldaftertheendofGENERA?Inthiscontextitwasmentioned that some measures are more effective and have a broader impact when beingimplemented at a European level. “The specific thing ofGENERA is thatwedon’t do it in a singleinstitute but thatwe synchronize it throughout Europe.And that is the added value in the longerterm”(P1_IP1).

GENERApartnersshouldagreeon topics thatareaddressed ineachGEPwhile taking intoaccountthe heterogeneity of the partners. Then standards can be established (e.g. gender fair selectioncriteria for recruitment of scientists) and sensitive issues are easier to address (e.g. sexualharassment,tobeaddressedbytrainings,ombudsperson). Itwasalsoarguedthatsomethinglikea


è Providecommonstandardsfor IMhowtoapproachfieldsofactionanddevelopacollectiveknowledgewithintheGENERAconsortium,whichsupportsimplementationactivities.


è Specify how the European field impact is generated and enlarged in practice. Fix theresponsibility for addressing the European field impact: WP5 leader? Consortium leader?Others?

è Decideifageneralguidelineforhowto increasegenderbalanceinphysicscanbedevelopedasafinalGENERAoutcome,basedontheroadmap,thetoolbox,orotherdeliverables:Whoisresponsiblefor(i)decisionand(ii)fordoingit?

è Decide if guidelines can be developed for specific fields of interventions, e.g. recruitment,selection committees, excellence criteria, and more?Who decides? Who is responsible fordevelopingguidelines?Whoisdoingthework?


code of conduct for gender in physics could be developed that can also be applied by researchorganizationsoutsideGENERA; thiswould increase the field impact andmake theoutcomesmoresustainable. Quite a number of interview partners from different organizations and differentpositionsexpressedtheexpectationthatGENERAwouldproviderecommendationshowtoincreasegenderbalanceinphysics.

16.3. Timeline

Thetimelineoftheprojectisseenasacrucialchallenge:AstoimplementGEPsisthecoreaimofGENERA itwas surprising for theevaluators thatat the timeof theex-ante interviews,nopartnerhad started any implementation activities. Most of the partners didn’t even have a structuredapproachhowtodesign theGEP.Often intervieweesworried that itwouldbeachallenge tohaveenoughtimeforimplementingmeasures.SomepartnersstatedthattheirtargetwastohavetheGEPreadybytheendoftheproject,andstarttheimplementationlater.ThisisalsorelevantwhenaGEPcurrentlyexistsandtheGENERAworkgoesdirectlyintothenextGEP,whichmighte.g.startin2019.

Itwasalsostatedthatalreadythetimelineintheproposalwasnotoptimalandworkpackagescouldhave been better scheduled in relation to each other. In this respect it was also argued thatdeliverablesshouldbewellcoordinatedandtheneedsandexpectationsofotherGENERApartnerstakenintoaccount.

16.4. Expertiseonimplementation

As already outlined in 2.3.2, the GENERA implementation process was not clear to manyimplementationmanagersatthetimeoftheinterviews.Furthermore,mostIMshavenotgatheredanyexperiencehowtoorganizesuchaprocessbeforebecomingIMinGENERA.

The GENERA roadmap, which was available by the end of February 2017 was designed to givesupportonthisprocess.Nevertheless,experiences inpracticewillbringnewchallengesforall IMs,evenmoreforthosewhohavenotexecutedthistaskbefore.


è GENERA partners should refer to and use the knowledge provided in all GENERAdeliverables.

è Each partner organization should plan and fix the implementation process in a tailoredmanner.

è Dataforthedesignanalysis–thatcouldnotbedonesofar–needstobeprovidedfortheevaluation,thereforeex-antefactsheetswillbesenttoallimplementingpartnersbyJR.


è It is suggested to fosterpeer supportbetween the IMsandalso to look for someexternalexpertisewhenneeded.


Anotherrelevantissuebesidesexpertiseistheindividualpositionwithintheorganization:itmakesadifferenceifaprofessornegotiatesorifitisayoungresearcherthatwasjusthiredtotakeoverthejobasimplementationmanager.Furthermore,someIMsdonotfullyworkforGENERA,butarestillactive as researchers or in other functions, which means limited time for the implementationactivities.

InsixGENERApartnerorganizationsnoGEPhaseverbeenimplementedbefore(seechapter3),heretheGENERAGEP can be perceived as a pilot in defining this process and negotiating it with themanagement. These partner organizations argued in particular that negotiating is time consumingandnextstepsoftenareunpredictable–whichmakesituncertainwhetheraGEPwillbereadyforimplementationattheendoftheproject.

InfiveGENERApartnerorganizationsaGEPalreadyexists;someofthemhaveorplantoimplementGEPsat two levels:1)anorganization-wideGEP;and2)amorephysics-specificGEPat the levelofdepartments or institutes. This is one option for GENERA partners in case a GEP exists atorganizationallevelalready.Otheroptionsaretocreateanamendment/annextoanexistingGEP,tomodifytheGEPinplaceortoprepareforthenextGEP.

16.5. Genderawareness,genderexpertise

GenderawarenessisacrucialfactorfortheimplementationofGEPs.Genderawarenessmeanstheunderstanding that “socially determined differences between women and men based on learnedbehaviour,whichaffecttheirabilitytoaccessandcontrolresources”14exist.ForGENERAthismeanstounderstandwhichdifferencesarecausedinsocietyandwhichresultfromthewayhowresearchinphysicsisorganizedandpracticed;ofcourseinteractionsexistandinterventionsalwayshaveimpactsonbothlevels.

Genderawarenessisneededattheleveloftheorganizationsandembodiedbythemanagement.Itbecomes visible in the gender equality institutionalization, that means formalizing the genderequality function, like having an office to care for gender equality issues (gender equalitycommission,genderequalityofficer)whichcanhaveverydifferentduties,rightsandpowerwithinanorganization. GEPs as formal documents that outline a systematic approach to gainmore genderequality are another instrument of gender institutionalization. To have an overview about whichgenderpoliciesarealready inplaceanonlinesurveywassent toallGENERApartnerorganizations(see2.3.1),thefindingsaresummarizedinchapter17.

The level of gender awareness within the GENERA consortium differs considerably: GENERAincludes organizations, which have an advanced gender equality institutionalization (GEP and/orstrong gender equality units), but this has limited impact on the physics departments/institutes.Otherorganizationshave limitedgenderawareness (’starters’)andare the intended target for theEuropeanCommission,asfunder15oftheGENERAproject.

Ofcourse,thedifferentlevelsofgenderequality institutionalizationandofgenderawarenessneedto be taken into accountwhen preparing or designingGEPs.GEPs, and any other gender equalityinterventions,onlycanworkwhentheorganization,orthemanagementstaff(asrepresentativesof14EuropeanCommission(2013):JusticeGlossary 15SeeHorizon2020WorkProgramme2014/15NET4SOCIETY


theinstitutionalnorms),isawarethatinequalitiesbetweenwomenandmenexistandthattheyare(partly)causedbyprocessesandpracticeswithintheresearchorganization.Intheinterviewswithmanagersaswellaswithfemalephysicists,sometimesthisstructuralperspectivewasmissing:theydiscussedforexamplechildcareproblemsorlackingavailabilityintheeveningsaspersonalmatters.Other female interviewees– successfulphysicists–denied thestructuraldiscriminationbyarguingthat no differences exist between the sexes. Women are equal and do science equally, the beststrategytobesuccessfulistoactandbehavelikemen.

Womenwhohavebeendealingwith gender issues andhave gender awareness take theoppositeposition: Women do science differently; these differences need to be taken into account whenassessing applications. Criteria for assessing excellence need to be gender-fair to assess thedifferences appropriately. In interviews with female physicists working in research organizationswhich foster gender balance by scouting for women actively, setting up quotas in selectioncommittees or even applying positive discrimination/action, a further dimension of genderawarenessbecamevisible:Whenaskedto joincommitteesor toapply foropenvacancieswomenargue that they often decline such offers. One reason might be additional workload that is notmirroredinthetrackrecord.

Butanotherexplanationwasthattheyfeeldiscriminatedwhenaskediftheywouldjoin,because“weneedawoman”.Itseemsthattheylackargumentswhymorewomenarewanted.Somanagers(orresearchfunders)whoaskformorewomentoapplyortojoincommitteesshouldbeencouragedtoprovidereasonsWHYwomenarewanted.Thenagain,itcouldhelptomakewomenasaminorityinphysicsmoreawareofthestructuraldiscriminationandalsoofthebenefitstheythemselves,otherwomenandthesocietywouldhavefromanincreasedandmoreequalparticipationofwomen.Thiscouldhelpavoidingthattheyrejectwhenbeingselected.

ButalsoindividualGENERAmemberslackgenderexpertiseandevengenderawareness.Workinginthismale-dominatedresearchfieldmightnothavegivenaccesstothisfieldofknowledge.GENERAmembersthatarenotworkingongenderissuessofaralsoreportthattheydonotseeanyproblems,that they work as hard as men do to have a successful career; success seems to depend on theindividualcontributiononly.

Infact,thegenderexpertiseofGENERAleadpersonsaswellasofIMsvariesconsiderably:Somearephysicists and have not worked on gender before, other physicists have already gathered someexperience (e.g. in committees). In other partner organizations social scientists do thiswork (theyfacerather thechallengetoget recognizedby thephysicists).Somephysicistsarguedthat theydonotfeelgender-awarethemselves.

This hinders them to start presenting the GENERA project because they do not feel prepared toanswer questions, e.g. why this project is needed, whatmeasures are recommended,why is onemeasures better than the other. At the same time they do not feel prepared enough to ask forsupportorempowermentinternally,e.g.thegenderequalityofficersinplace.Astheyhavenotbeeninvolved in gender activities and discourses on gender equality they have the feeling that moregenderknowledgewouldbeneededtopresenttheprojectorideastoimplement,becauseitisthemwhoaretheexperts.

Thebenefitofgenderexpertiseistwo-fold:beingfamiliarwithrecentfindingsfromgenderresearchallows developing and elaborating arguments why specific measures are needed and should be


implemented – this makes it easier to overcome resistances and gain support. Such argumentsshouldbebasedonsounddata; thereforeanassessmentofthestatusquo intheorganization isapreconditionfordecidingonmeasures.Aninter-linkagebetweenthestatusquoandmeasurestobeimplemented are gender equality targets. Gender knowledge and gender expertise facilitate thespecificationoftargets.

17. Annex:OverviewEx-AnteFactsAs part of the ex-ante evaluation a policy survey on the relevance, objectives and measurespromotinggenderequalitywassenttoallGENERAimplementingpartners(seealso2.3.1)–tocollectinformationandtobepreparedfortheex-anteinterviews.

The most important findings on the institutionalization of gender equality in GENERA partnerorganizationswerealreadydescribedinchapter3.Theannexsummarizesfurtherdetailsongenderequalityplansandtheirtargets,policiesandgenderequalitymeasuresinoverviewtables.Thatway,also an overview of the ex-ante status of gender equality in the GENERA partner organizations isgiven.


è It is recommended that GENERA teams and IMs try to establish a supportive and mutuallearning relationship with gender equality officers in place within their institution:While theGENERA team can benefit on the experiences collected within the organization so far, thegenderequalityofficersmightbenefitfromtheinternationalperspectiveoftheprojectsandthelearningpossiblethere.

è Bringgenderexpertise intotheorganizationsto increasegenderawarenessattheinstitutionalandindividuallevel.

è Whenwomenarepushed,argumentsshouldbeprovidedwhytheyarepushed,notlimitingtheargumentto“Pleasejoinbecauseweneedawomantoincreasenumbers”.

è Buildupapoolofgenderknowledgeinphysics(andingeneral):forIMs/everyoneinterestedingender & physics: argumentations, results of certain research and possible derivinginterventions.

è Offergendertrainings/empowermentforIMsorallGENERAmembers=highimpact


GenderEqualityPlansandPolicies

HighimportanceofGenderEquality

Onaverageahighimportanceofgenderequality(7onascalefrom1-10)hasbeenreportedbyGENERApartnerorganizations.

GenderEqualityPlan45%ofGENERApartnerorganizationshaveagenderequalityplanMostGEPshavearuntimeof2-4years.InmostorganizationstheGEPisdevelopedbycommittees/teamsresponsibleforgenderequality.ThemostimportantdriversfordevelopingaGEParelegalobligationsandotherregulationsfollowedbyself-imposedGEPs.

MostcommonelementsintheGEPClearlydefinedobjectivesandgoals (5partners)Specificmeasurestoreachthesetargets (5partners)Specifictargetfigurestomeasuresprogress (4partners)Astatusquodescriptionofgenderequalityintheorganization (4partners)

Detailedresponsibilitiesfortasks (4partners)Specificarrangementsforevaluatingtheimplementationanditseffects (2partners)

GenderEqualityMonitoring69%ofGENERApartnerorganizationsarecollectingsexdisaggregateddataforagenderequalitymonitoringatleastonceayearInmostoftheGENERApartnerorganizationswhichhaveaGEmonitoringthedataispubliclyavailable.Themonitoringismostlyuseda) tomeasureprogressinrespecttothetargetsofthe

GEPb) todiscussissuesofgenderequalityinthe

organization

5organizationshaveaGEP

NoGEP GEP


GEPtargets

GEPtargets TOTAL CNRS IAC INFN KIT UNIGE

Common

targets

Careerpromotionoffemaleresearchers 5 x x x x x

Providingbetterworklifebalanceopportunities 5 x x x x x

Raisingtheawarenessforgender(in)equalityinyourorganization 5 x x x x x

Supportingscientistswith(young)childreninreconcilingfamilyandworkresponsibilities

5 x x x x x

Engagingthemanagementlevelandraisingtheirgenderequalitycompetence/knowhow

5 x x x x x

Improvingequityinhiring,tenureandpromotionprocedures 5 x x x x x

Improvingtheorganizationalculture 5 x x x x x

Increasingthenumberofwomenamongearlycareerresearchers/scientists 5 x x x x x

Increasingthenumberofwomeninmanagement/leadershippositions 5 x x x x x

Impo

rtan

ttargets Increasingthevisibilityoffemalescientists

inyourorganization 4 x x x x

Increasingthenumberofwomenscientists 3 x x x

Includinggenderperspectivesinresearchandteaching 3 x x x

Notarget Improvingthecompetitivenessofthe

organization 0

Enhancingtheresearchoutputoftheorganization 0


GenderEqualityMeasuresinplace*

Note:Numbersrefertothenumberoforganizationswhichhaveimplementedtherespectivemeasures*Notincluded:CNRS,FOM-AMOLF,FOM-ARCNL(noinformationprovided);JU,IFIN-HH(noGenderEqualityMeasuresinplace)

D3.2A GENERA-ex-ante report public EP 8Aug · Deliverable D 3.2A Ex-ante assessment report - short...

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