1) The Centre has launched a new mentoring program for PhD students and postdocs to help early career researchers start their scientific careers successfully. 2) Professor Alena Kohoutková received the Milada Paulova Award for her lifetime contributions to civil engineering and architecture. 3) The Centre is working to establish the Czech Chamber of Gender Experts to serve as an independent platform for gender experts. 4) The Centre called on universities to address sexism in academia and take action against sexist culture, such as eliminating beauty contests. 5) The Centre hosted debates on topics like sexual harassment, the gender dimension of pensions, and how to achieve fair representation of women in science.

1. GENDER&
SCIENCECONTENTS
New mentoring programme for PhD students and postdocs
Milada Paulova Award 2014
Gender Expert Chamber of the Czech Republic to launch in 2015
NKC calls on rectors to take a firm stance against sexist culture in academia
The Ombudsman to address reconciliation personal and professional life
of scientists
3rd National Conference discusses how to achieve fair science
Book release
Sex in her eyes: NKC debate on sexual harassment at universities
Retirement without gratitude?: NKC debate on the gender dimension
of the Czech pension system
The Centre has grown bigger!
NEWSLETTER 02 / 2014
Recent information from Gender & science
arena in the Czech Republic
National Contact Centre for

2. This year, we have successfully completed the fourth year of the mentoring
programme for secondary school female students, which aims to motivate them
to choose technology and engineering. Last year we were also awarded a grant
to launch a mentoring programme for early career researchers in January 2015.
Our goal is to help the scholars at doctoral and post-doctoral levels to start their
own scientific career successfully. The programme was officially opened on 8
December 2014 in Prague. The event's guests were Renée Schroeder, a
biochemistry professor, head of the laboratory at the Max F. Perutz Center
Laboratories (MFPL) of the Vienna University and the Medical University
of Vienna, and Sabine Prokop, freelance scientist and co-founder and
chairwoman of VfW (Association of Feminist Scholars).
NEW MENTORING PROGRAMME FOR PHD STUDENTS
AND POSTDOCS
WATCH OUR MENTORING VIDEO!

3. On 22 October 2014 the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports of the Czech
Republic in cooperation with The Centre conferred the Milada Paulova Award for
lifetime contribution to science to Professor Alena Kohoutková, Dean of the
Faculty of Civil Engineering of the Czech Technical University in Prague. This
year the 6th annual award was given in civil engineering and architecture to
commemorate the 100th anniversary of the graduation of the first Czech female
architecture student Milada Pavlíková and to underscore the high public
relevance of cultivating public space, its changes and human interventions in it.
MILADA PAULOVA AWARD 2014
GENDER EXPERT CHAMBER OF THE CZECH REPUBLIC
TO LAUNCH IN 2015
Professor Alena Kohoutková is engaged in basic and applied research in the
field of building structures and has made major contributions to research into
structure, rheology of concrete, recycling of concrete, and aesthetics in concrete
design.
In summer, with the support of the Faculty of Humanities Faculty of Charles University
and Faculty of Social Studies of Masaryk University, we launched the preparation
for establishing the Czech chamber of gender experts. The chamber will serve as
an official independent platform in the Czech Republic, and will bring together qualified
gender experts from various fields of research, specializations and sectors of society.
The chamber has the ambition to become a partner for the state authorities, local
administrations, and various working and advisory groups and expert bodies.
The Project is supported by the Open Society Fund Prague under the Let’s Give
(Wo)men a Chance programme, financed from the Norway Grants.
WE TWEET IN ENGLISH. CHECK IT OUT!

4. On 26 November 2014 we sent an open letter to Czech university rectors, urging them
to take responsibility for the cultivation of the academic environment. The reason
is that we have recently witnessed a series of communication activities showing
sexism, stereotypes, and sexual objectification. Universities' beauty contests are the
most obvious example. It was not long before the first reaction came in: the University
of Economics decided not to organize the next year's Miss University of Economics
under its aegis.
THE OMBUDSMAN TO ADDRESS RECONCILIATION PERSONAL
AND PROFESSIONAL LIFE OF SCIENTISTS
NKC CALLS ON RECTORS TO TAKE A FIRM STANCE
AGAINST SEXIST CULTURE IN ACADEMIA
In late October, the Office of the Public Defender of Rights
organized an international conference on work-life balance,
including a workshop on reconciliation of work and life
in science led by Marcela Linková, the head of NKC -
Gender & Science. The workshop's outputs prepared
together with sociologist Kateřina Lišková and
psychologist Irena Smetáčkova and lawyer Pavla
Špondrová were presented to the Czech Ombudsman
Anna Šabatová. It consisted of the several recommendations
concerning changes in legislation and internal regulations:
1) Fixed-term contracts. This type of contracts has negative impacts on female
scientists and more specifically mothers-scientists.
2) Research assessment. Research assessment systems rarely take into account
career breaks due to parenthood or care for dependent family members.
3) Targeted funding and grant agencies. The discussion focused on changes of the
Principal Investigator in the case he or she leaves for maternity and parental leave and
the possibilities of recognizing costs of childcare and other dependents in the research
and development support programs.
4) Codes of ethics and academic culture.
5) Position of female postgraduate students in the social insurance system.
FOLLOW OUR LINKEDIN PAGE!

5. On 22 October 2014, as the organizing institution of the 3rd National Conference
on Gender and Science, NKC - Gender & Science called on representatives of
research institutions and universities to introduce specific steps to improve the
conditions and status of women in science. Representatives of the Ministry of
Education, Youth and Sports and of the Office of Government, the Czech Academy
of Sciences, grant agencies, and universities agreed to pay attention to equal
opportunities and the status of women in science. In a panel discussion many
of these representatives presented specific measures to increase
gender equality, which were either adopted by their institutions
or should be adopted in the near future. A panel on the
representation of women in leadership and decision-making
positions made a strong argument for for quotas for
women in decision-making, advisory and expert bodies
of the Czech science.
3RD NATIONAL CONFERENCE DISCUSSES
HOW TO ACHIEVE FAIR SCIENCE
In her keynote presentation, Prof Londa Schiebinger,
from Stanford University, an expert on gender innovations,
explained why the inclusion of the gender dimension in science
is important and how it improves science.
WATCH HER LECTURE!

6. On 18 December 2014, one of the members of our Centre,
Marta Vohlídalová is releasing a new book of interviews.
The publication is a follow-up project to a 2007 publication,
which introduced young scientists from different disciplines
at the beginning of their scientific career. The new book
Chess Middlegame: Women Talents Seven Years After
returns back to these female scientists after seven years.
The author describes progress of their work and careers, but also
changes in their professional and private plans, objectives and expectations. Marta
Vohlídalová underscores the differences between their life and work ideas in 2007 and
now, and focuses on the current realities of their lives and their reflection of the recent
transformation of scientific environment.
BOOK RELEASE
SEX IN HER EYES: NKC DEBATE ON SEXUAL HARASSMENT
AT UNIVERSITIES
For the tenth time we joined the European Researchers' Night. This time, we chose
a highly controversial issue of sexual harassment in academia that stirred up a great
interest especially on social networks. Three years ago, scientists at Charles University
and at the Institute of Sociology conducted two comprehensive studies on sexual
harassment in academia. Guests of the evening, Irena Smetáčková, Jaroslav Bielčík,
and Miroslav Jašurek, indeed confirmed the results of the two studies: sexual
harassment is a systemic phenomenon that needs to be seen as a matter of power.
The situation could be, in their opinion, addressed through codes of ethics, more
complex labor contracts, specific mechanisms, and better awareness. NKC - Gender
& Science officially conveyed the Researchers' Night's outputs to the President of the
Czech Rectors Conference.

7. Every year the Centre participates in the Science and Technology Week, organized
by the Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic. Since debates about the Czech
pension system and its future rank high on the agenda, we decided to take a close look
at the gender dimension of the retirement Attended by experts and scholars in sociology,
economics, and the non-profit sector Radka Dudová, Linda Sokačová, Ilona Švihlíková and
Jaroslav Vostatek, the event took place on 12 November 2014 at American Centre of the
U.S. Embassy Prague.
Radka Dudová, who led the discussion, stated that the Czech pension system would
soon turn into a system based on the merit principle, which could deepen inequalities
between men and women. According to Linda Sokačová such a system is unfair
because it puts at disadvantage women who care for their children and aging parents.
Ilona Švihlíková saw this as a philosophical problem, and asked: What is merit? It is
necessary to look at the system as a whole. The labor market is unfair to women, too,
and therefore the situation should be addressed there.
Economist Vostatek disagreed with the other speakers on the issue of childcare and how
to reflect this merit in the pension system: pensions should not be differentiated according to
children. Linda Sokačová disagreed: if the state does not take childcare into account, it can
hardly motivate women to have children at all! Otherwise they would be punished on the labor
market and consequently in retirement. This was also confirmed by sociologist Dudová,
who conducted a research study on women caring for their aging parents. These women
have a serious problem when they wish to return to labor market. They are too
young to retire, but too old to be hired to work.
RETIREMENT WITHOUT GRATITUDE?
NKC DEBATE ON THE GENDER DIMENSION
OF THE CZECH PENSION SYSTEM
A related issue is the 35-year period of compulsory insurance to receive old-age
benefits. How to deal with people (presumably mostly women) without savings or
property and without sufficient pension benefits from the state pillar because they do
not meet the 35-year compulsory insurance period? According to economist Švihlíková
it is necessary to follow trends. Technology is replacing labour, and we must reconsider
the notion of work and what constitutes work. Caring for the elderly is labor and the
state should recognize this. Jaroslav Vostatek also disagreed with 35-year period.
However, unlike Švihlíková he would prefer retirement dependent on how much people
paid into the system.

8. THE CENTRE HAS GROWN BIGGER!
Since April 2014 the Centre was joined by four new members. Martina Fucimanová
is a new support for the Mentoring project for secondary schools students and early
career researchers. Another new member is a fresh graduate in Doctoral Studies in
Sociology, Blanka Nyklová. She is a Research Assistant and her main action now
focuses on the chamber of gender experts. And since the Centre is increasingly
proactive towards the public, our team was strengthened by Simona Pecková, a
Communication Specialist and graduate in Political Science. Finally, to support the
whole team, Dana Vráblíková, who graduated in Gender Studies, has joined the
team as an Assistant
NEWSLETTER 2/2013
The newsletter is published free of charge by the National Contact Centre for Gender
& Science, a project of the Institute of Sociology of the Academy of Sciences of the
Czech Republic, funded by the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports in the
EUPRO programme for support of international cooperation in research and
development (code LE 12003). ISSN 1801–7339
Address Jilská 1, Prague 1, 110 00, Czech Republic
Editorial board Simona Pecková, Marcela Linková, Hana Tenglerová
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