Project description

Purpose

The purpose of the Meta-analysis of gender and science research study is to collect and analyse gender and science research on the following topics:

» Horizontal segregation in research careers: this topic covers the issue of choice of scientific subjects by girls and occupational choices by women, the perception and attractiveness of science, engineering and technology, the causes underlying these choices (e.g. stereotypes, influence of family and role models, etc.), the causes of success and failure at university level, etc.

» Vertical segregation in research careers: this topic covers the barriers for women to reach top scientific positions ("glass ceiling" or "sticky floor"), mentoring/tutoring initiatives, etc.

» The underlying causes and effects of these two aspects, including work-life balance issues, pay gap, mobility-related obstacles, dual careers, evidence of discrimination, working culture, stereotypes, gender bias in research contents, etc.

Tender specifications can be downloaded here.

Objectives

The objectives of the study are to:

» Provide an exhaustive overview and analysis of all research carried out on gender and science at European, national and regional levels.

» Make the study results accessible to researchers and policy-makers via publishable reports and an informed bibliography available in a database (the Gender and Science Database, GSD).

» Steer policy-making on gender and science in the years to come and define future research priorities within the 7th Framework Programme, in particular through good practice examples and gap analysis in the various research topics.

How do we understand science?

For the purposes of the study, science is understood in its broadest meaning, including social sciences and humanities.

Geographical and time coverage

The study covers the 27 EU Member States as well as the Associated States to the 7th Framework Programme (Norway, Iceland, Israel, Switzerland, Turkey, and Croatia). The research produced in all European languages from 1980 to 2008 will be revised.