Results of Gender Questionnaire 2006 Marion Schrumpf Claire

Results of Gender Questionnaire 2006 Marion Schrumpf, Claire Sarrat & Pete Smith Carbo. Europe-IP Annual Meeting, Poznan, Poland, October 2007

Total responses Total = 72

Mean age Overall mean = 37 years

Permanent positions Overall = 36%

Number of children Overall mean = 0. 8 kids / person

Percentage of people experiencing discrimination due to gender in the past

Percentage of people experiencing discrimination due to family issues in the past

Percentage of people anticipating discrimination due to gender in the future

Percentage of people anticipating problems due to family issues in the future * mainly people who want to start or extend their families

Gender/Family-related problems • • Less time to work Maternity leave usually taken by woman Less flexibility to change working place, Less flexibility to go to conferences Less flexibility to participate in evening activities Ph. D salaries not enough for a family Only one person (m) sees problems for work in CE because of gender

Child care at meetings • Of people having children, about half would be interested in child care, with no clear preference for home or meeting place

Is gender an issue in science • 84% of men and 66% of woman think that gender is an issue in science • Mainly because: - ratio m/f >> 1, differences in salaries? - less woman at higher positions

Suggestions to improve the situation • CE: – finance childcare during meetings – more woman at higher levels – take problems of gender discrimation serious at insitutes where they occur – meeting places which are easy to reach • National/EU: – more permanent positions – better childcare

Outcome of Poznan meeting (I) • Current gender committee step down. • Marion Schrumpf & Pete Smith agreed to stay on if three new candidates were not found • One new member: Irène Xueref-Remy • No election needed? – new gender committee is: Irène Xueref-Remy, Marion Schrumpf & Pete Smith

Outcome of Poznan meeting (II) • Concern that the gender committee is powerless to influence anything, either within the project, or more widely. A box ticking exercise for the EU rather than a committee that can do anything useful. • Since less than 50% of respondents with kids said that they would use childcare support at meetings, and uptake (from past experience) is far lower, Carbo-Europe-IP should consider offering childcare support (at meeting or at home) for free for the next meeting. Not expensive but would show commitment to change. • Take seriously the issue of accessibility when choosing where to hold the next meeting.