National Contact Centre for Women in Science: gender training in academia

1. National Contact Centre for Women in Science:gender training in academia GRUNDTVIG

2. ABOUT Established in 2001, funded from the EUPRO programme of the Ministry of Education for international cooperation in Research and Development Feminist research, advocacy and support project aimed at improving the position of women and early stage researchers in science and promoting gender equality in science Main lines of action: International cooperation and contribution to international debates on gender equality in R&D Cooperation with state administration responsible for R&D and research organizations – proposals of measures, monitoring, implementation Support activities at the level of institutions and individuals Increasing the visibility of women researchers Project consulting Popularization, events for the public, building public debates Research in the fields of gender sociology and science and technology studies gender sociology of institutions, combination of work and private lives, mobility and precarity at early career stages, research assessment and excellence from a gender perspective, sexual harassment in higher education, public accountability of research, critical policy analysis GRUNDTVIG

3. TEAM Marcela Linková (coordinator) – Czech science policy, equal opportunities policies, international cooperation, advocacy Kateřina Cidlinská – INFOMAT, mentoring programme and communication Alice Červinková – Researchers’ Night, Academia Film Olomouc, mobility and the position of early stage researchers Alena Ortenová – communication Hana Tenglerová – Czech science policy, equal opportunities policies, cooperation with the state administration, Milada Paulová Award, social media (FB and twitter) Marta Vohlídalová – dual career couples, combination of work and private lives in science, researchers at the beginning of research career Total: 3.7 FTE GRUNDTVIG

4. POLITICS OF INACTIVITY: GENDER EQUALITY IN SCIENCE AS A POLICY NON-ISSUE • “politics of inactivity” (Tenglerová 2009) • Active refusal to address the issue • Council for Research, Development and Innovations: never addressed the issue since inception in 1992 • No state-wide policy on gender equality in research • No policy / structural change initiative on the part of • Czech Science Foundation and other funding bodies • the Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic (largest public research organization) • Leadership of institutes of the Academy of Sciences • Czech universities including Czech Rectors’ Conference • Leadership of individual universities • Private sector (with its Association of Research Organizations) GRUNDTVIG

5. DISCURSIVE PRACTICES USED TO ELIMINATE THE ISSUE OF GENDER EQUALITY • Gender equality is reduced to the issue of women in science • Thus, attention focused on women in their biological and social roles • Men’s over-representation, especially in funding and decision-making positions, invisible • Structural and systemic issues neglected and invisible GRUNDTVIG

6. DISCURSIVE PRACTICES USED TO ELIMINATE THE ISSUE OF GENDER EQUALITY II. • Gender equality often equated with the percentage of women in science • However, statistics are used to legitimate inaction on the part of institutions • Low % of women is not perceived as an issue • If it is, it is discussed as a problem of women (women as incapable or not hard-working enough) • Parenthood – discussed as a purely women’s responsibility • Never perceived as a structural issue embedded in institutions • Relegated to the private sphere (or social policy) • Only action: university kindergartens GRUNDTVIG

7. STRUCTURAL CHANGE IN RESEARCH ORGANIZATIONS • Launched by the EC in 2009 • Introduce systematic, structural change in research organizations and universities • Topics addressed: • Gender in research content • Women in decision-making • Gender structure of research careers GRUNDTVIG

8. CZECH EXPERIENCE • Participation in 1 project submitted in 2012 • Negotiation of participation in the project at the university: key features • Strong and successful female presence • Support in top leadership • Most responsive to issues of gender in research content (quality of research) • Most careful/hesitant about women in decision-making positions GRUNDTVIG

9. KEY ISSUES • Statistical data (no data, no problem, no policy) • Data still an issue in Czech R&D (especially research funding, remuneration and gender pay gap) • Securing top support for change • Regular monitoring and analysis of situation GRUNDTVIG

10. MONITORING • Monitoring reports on gender equality in research performed by the NKC (Tenglerová 2009, 2010, 2011) • Advocacy and educational tool • Sent to all major stakeholders (public research and HE institutions, funding bodies, ministries, governmental councils, advisors etc.) • Poor response rate • Gender equality “observed” • “Natural course” – no forced actions (such as quotas or targets), leads to stagnation in the CR • If any action reported, related to pregnancy and parenthood (part-time work, flexible work hours, nurseries and kindergartens) GRUNDTVIG

11. CONTACT Marcela Linková National Contact Centre for Women and Science www.zenyaveda.cz Institute of Sociology, Academy of Sciences CR Jilská 1 110 00 Prague 1 CZECH REPUBLIC tel:+ 420-222 222 322 fax:+ 420-222 220 143 email: marcela.linkova@soc.cas.cz icq: 342-739-303 skype: amebice GRUNDTVIG