Presentation from the webinar „What are the challenges that female researchers face and what support is useful?” led by dr Hilde Janssens from the Institute of Science and Technology Austria, 2.07.2020

2. Does the gender
gap really exist in
academia?
Yes.
How bad is it really?

3. Permanent GLGLPostdocPhDUndergraduates
She Figures 2018
PROPORTIONS OF MEN AND WOMEN IN ACADEMIC
CAREERS IN ALL DISCIPLINES
men 2013
men 2016
women 2016
women 2013

4. Permanent GLGLPostdocPhDUndergraduates
She Figures 2018
PROPORTIONS OF MEN AND WOMEN IN ACADEMIC
CAREERS IN SCIENCE & ENGINEERING
men 2013
men 2016
women 2016
women 2013

5. PROPORTIONS OF MEN AND WOMEN IN ACADEMIC
CAREERS IN SCIENCE & ENGINEERING
Postdocs (%) Group leaders (%)
She Figures 2018

6. YES
And … women are more likely to quit at
the postdoc-to-group leader transition
Martinez et al, EMBO reports, 2007
IS THERE REALLY A GENDER GAP?

7. Women have lower
confidence in
obtaining tenure
Women experience
discrimination and
less support Women more frequently
have a partner with an
equivalent education and
move due to their
partners’ career
Women take more career
breaks than men. Mostly,
these breaks are motivated
by the need to spend more
time with family
Ledin et al, EMBO reports, 2007
More women than men foresee
family responsibilities as a possible
source of conflict with their future
professional life
The majority of both male and female fellows
thought that they had adequate levels of
creativity, competitive drive, assertiveness,
passion for science and experimental skills
WHY HAVE ALL THE WOMEN GONE?

8. Ledin et al, EMBO reports, 2007
WHY DO MANY WOMEN LEAVE ACADEMIA?
The decisions of women to try to obtain a group leader
position are influenced by
 considerations of family-related factors
 a level of self confidence that is lower than that of men
 emphasized by lower levels of support and a women-
unfriendly environment

9. Women-unfriendly
environment
and
lack of support

10. Experiences
of low
self-confidence

11. Life balance

12. Implicit Bias

13. STUDIES – LERU POSITION PAPER 2019
 Perceived math abilities of female students are
underestimated and of male students overestimated in
relation to their grades;
 Female teachers receive less favourable evaluations than male
teachers in all disciplines;
 Female scholars are less likely than men to achieve tenure;
 Male scholars receive more grant money;
 Male scholars are more likely to receive research awards;
 Papers where women were the sole, first or last author were
cited less often (5-10% lower)

14. Emily Brown
Greg Johnson
Samir Sharma
Tara Singh
Ali Saeed
Hina Chaudhry
Lei Li
Xuiying Zhang
Goldin & Rouse (2000) American Economic Review
BIAS IN SELECTION OF JOB
CANDIDATES

15. Case study:
“Science faculty’s subtle gender biases favor male students”
Moss-Racusin et al, PNAS (2012)
• When gender is known, there is a bias from the evaluator
• This bias is independent of the gender of the evaluator
IMPLICIT BIAS

16. Case study:
“Science faculty’s subtle gender biases favor male students”
Moss-Racusin et al, PNAS (2012)
IMPLICIT BIAS

17. Spencer et al (1999) Journal of Experimental Social Psychology
BIAS ALSO WORKS ON OURSELVES:
STEREOTYPE THREAT

18. Find out
about your
implicit bias
Implicit Association Test:
https://implicit.harvard.edu/implicit

19. CONSIDERATIONS WHEN
IMPLEMENTING MEASURES
 Framework: what is the commitment of management?
 Image-protection or genuine interest
 Equality or equity
 Resources (budget, staff)

20. Equal treatment Equal opportunities
(equity)
DIFFERENCE BETWEEN EQUALITY AND EQUITY

21. CONSIDERATIONS WHEN
IMPLEMENTING MEASURES
 Framework: what is the commitment of management?
 Image-protection or genuine interest
 Equality or equity
 Resources (budget, staff)
 Who is my target group? What are their needs?
 What is the responsibility of the institute?
What is personal responsibility?

22. Comfort zone
Panic zone
Challenge zone
WHAT IS MY PERSONAL
RESPONSIBILITY?

23. CONSIDERATIONS WHEN
IMPLEMENTING MEASURES
 Framework: what is the commitment of management?
 Image-protection or genuine interest
 Equality or equity
 Resources (budget, staff)
 Who is my target group? What are their needs?
 What is the responsibility of the institute?
What is personal responsibility?
 What are the limitations of institutional support?
 Which participatory measures are mandatory and which
ones not?

24. CONSIDERATIONS WHEN
IMPLEMENTING MEASURES
 How would you know that you offer an inclusive
environment for your female researchers?
 Women apply
 Female group leaders stay
 Female PhDs and Postdocs move on to other academic
positions
 People take initiative, engage, volunteer
 People collaborate
 People speak up in a respectful way when they
witness/experience inequity

25. I. Create an inclusive, supportive environment
II. Create opportunities
to increase self-confidence
III. Create opportunities
to obtain life balance
Inclusive language
Inclusive group dynamics
Inclusive attitude
Gender equity
A. Awareness of self and other
B. Communication skills
C. Gender balance / Diverse teams
D. Committed, reflective organisation
E. Self-reflection and self-development
for women
F. Concrete help for women
SUPPORTIVE MEASURES FOR FEMALE RESEARCHERS

26. A. Awareness of self and other
B. Communication skills
C. Gender balance / Diverse team
E. Self-reflection and
self-development for women
D. Committed, reflective organisation
F. Concrete help for women
Mentoring (programmes)
Mentoring (self-initiative)
One-to-one coaching
Peer groups
My role models/inspiration
Walk-the-talk
Visible topic
Budget + Staff
Monitoring
Recruitment strategy
External support
Kindergarten
Dual Career
Mobility support
Financial support
Support for people on leave
Home support network
Training
Implicit bias
Gender equity
Communication skills
Negotiation skills
Self-leadership

27. Mentoring (programme)
Mentoring (self-initiative)
One-to-one coaching: external + conflict system
Peer group: diversity
My role models/inspiration: lecture series
Kindergarten
Dual career
Mobility support
Financial support
Support for people on leave
Home support network
Training
Implicit bias
Gender equity
Communication skills
Negotiation skills
Self-leadership
A. Awareness of self and other
B. Communication skills
C. Gender balance / Diverse team
E. Self-reflection and
self-development for women
D. Committed, reflective organisation
F. Concrete help for women
Walk-the-talk
Visible topic
Budget + Staff
Monitoring
Recruitment: committee+observer
External support: Family Audit
IST Austria

28. IST AUSTRIA
CAREER SUPPORT STAFF
 International Officer
 Family Services Contact (PT)
 Dual Career Contact (PT)
 Kindergarten Coordinator (PT)
 Career Development Officer
 Grant Office
 Good Practice Officer, Trusted Advisors
 Occupational Psychologist

29. Thank you for your attention
hilde.janssens@ist.ac.at