Women in Science and Mentoring

Dr. Dóra Groó

Hungarian Science and Technology
Foundation
 Gender equality in R&D

• Research methods often forget about the differences between

women and men
• Career progress for women is even harder in R&D than in other
sectors
• 40% of PhDs are acquired by women, but their proportion
among active researchers is much lower, not to mention higher
positions – this way they are not represented in decision making
processes and the distribution of resources

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 Situation in Hungary 1.

Men and women in R&D by occupation Scientists and engineers in 2001

75,4
100 80
11,7 64,4 65,4
90 30,6
70
80 12,7
60
70 50
60 other 35,6 34,6 women

%
23,8 40
%

50 assistant 30 24,6
men
40 75,6 20
30 researcher
45,6 10
20 0
10
0 budgetary higher education private sector
institutions sector
women men

Proportion of women among scientists

and engineers, % , 2001
natural sciences 25,1
technical sciences 21,1
medical sciences 38,7
agricultural sciences 30,4
social sciences 36,6
humanities 47,7
other 32,8
total 33,0
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 Situation in Hungary 2.
Relative share of women and men in a typical academic career,
Hungary, 2001

100
90 88,4
80
70
65,7
60 57,6 58,4
53,4 women
%

50 46,6
42,4 41,6 men
40
34,3
30
20
10 11,6
0
student PhD student assistant associate full professor
professor professor

All PhDs: 42,4%

Researchers: gen. 33%
PhD: 22% glass ceiling
Academic doctor: 10%
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member of the Academy: 3%
 EU background

USA (Japan) European Union

big gap in R&D and competitiveness

many conclusions have been drawn concerning

the research and development activities of the EU,
the differences in structure, management and other
factors were analysed

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 EU activities –
research and development 1.
1999. Communication of the European Commission: Women and
Science: mobilising women to enrich European research
1998. Women and Science ETAN expert group
task: to identify the problems/possibilities concerning female
participation in R&D
2000. Report of the ETAN Group:
Science policies in the European Union: Promoting excellence
through mainstreaming gender equality
„gender mainstreaming” = systematic integration of equal
opportunities for women and men into the organisation and its
culture and into all programs, policies and practices
The report recommends various strategies to encourage women
to enter and remain in science, like role models, mentoring,
networks, fellowships, etc.

Result: gender mainstreaming became a policy in research 6

 EU activities –
research and development 2.

2000. Communication of the European Commission:

Towards a European Research Area
One of the main elements of ERA is equal opportunities

2001. Science and Society Action Plan – 4 specific actions on W&S

Women in Science calls in the 6th Framework Programme

1998. Helsinki group: 15 EU member states + 15 associated countries

2002. Helsinki group report: National policies on women and science in
Europe (CEE - EU differences)

2002. Women in industrial research expert group: 15 EU member

states
2003. WIR report: Women in industrial research – A wake up call for
European industry
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 EU activities –
research and development 3.

2002. Enwise expert group

(Enlarge the Women and Science initiative to East)
Central and Eastern Europe + Baltic states
2003. Summer national contributions
2004. January 23. Press conference, report
2004. September 9-10. valorisation conference, Tallinn,
publication of the Enwise final report:
Waste of talents: turning private struggles into a public
issue – Women and Science in the Enwise countries

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 Some findings of the
Enwise report

• The highest proportion of women are to be found in the

countries and sectors with the lowest R&D expenditure
• Honeypot indicator:
a measure of the relationship between concentrations of women
and men and R&D expenditure by main field of science and by
sector

women are more likely to be concentrated in the low

expenditure sectors, fields and countries
• Scissors diagram valid also for Enwise countries: the proportion
of women declines as we go up in the hierarchy

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 Women in the enlarged EU

Proportion of women on the labour market, 2001

70,0 62,9
60,0
46,7 46,5
50,0 43,1
39,5
40,0
%

27,2
30,0
20,0
10,0
0,0
EU-CEE EU-15

Employment Professionals Researchers

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 Recommendations
of the Enwise report 1.

Ongoing political support from the Council of Ministers and the

Parliament of the EU is necessary to enhance the role and place of
women scientists from the Enwise countries in the ERA/FP6

Recommendations for the European Commssion:

• provide wide access to data
• organize NCP trainings on gender issues
• follow with attention the proportional participation of women at
scientific events
• start helpdesks
• develop mentoring schemes
• support regional coordination centres for women and science

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 Recommendations
of the Enwise report 2.
Recommendations for R&D policy makers at national level:
• Gender mainstreaming approach in the national education policies
• Attract girls to science
• Establish steering committees for women and science
• Family-friendly policies and working environment
• Support for the young generation
• Set up or support contact centres for women scientists
• Examining the pay gap
• Support gender research, research on women scientists
• Provide equal opportunities in recruitment and promotion
• Introduce gender sensitive indicators and sex-disaggregated data

Media:
• Improve the image of science
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 Mentoring

• What is mentoring?
• Why is mentoring important for women in R&D?
• Forms and means of mentoring
• Qualities of an ideal mentor
• Main topics for mentoring
• Good examples
• Mentoring for homecoming scientists

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 What is mentoring?

• It is a key tool in personal development and

empowerment
• With the aims of:
– transferring experience to the younger generation
– assisting people to develop solutions to personal and career
problems
– providing guidance and encouragement
– improving the performance and enhancing the potential of
young professionals
• Researchers face special problems during their
career, therefore they need expert mentoring from
their peers
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 Importance of mentoring
for women in R&D

The specific aim is to retain women in R&D

Mentoring is a vital part of career development for women which

can contribute to
– identify the discriminatory factors hindering women in their scientific
career
– overcome myths and stereotypes on the supposedly „male fields” of
research
– prevent the isolation of women scientists in male-dominated
professional environments
– solve the women-scientist dilemma (work-life balance, return after a
career break)
– develop new skills (leadership, public speaking, etc.)

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 Forms of mentoring

• One-to-one mentoring
– Offers personal and individual contact
– Requires considerable time and effort
– Has the danger of a relationship of dependence
• Small group interactions
– Offers the comfort of individual interactions
– Scientists come from different career levels
– Facilitates peer interactions
• Large group activities
– Facilitates networking, prevents isolation
– A broad range of advice and backgrounds among peers

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 Means of mentoring

• E-mail connection
• Phone calls
• Informal meetings, visits
• Touring a mentor”s lab or workplace
• „Shadowing” a mentor (interning)
• Meetings at scientific events (conferences,
workshops, etc.)

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 Qualities of an ideal mentor

The mentor is an experienced and trusted advisor and guide

with the following qualities:
• is respectable as a person and as a professional
• is a good listener and can reflect to what is being said
• is interested in the mentee and ready to invest time
• is knowledgeable and open, prepared to share her or his own
experience
• can offer (not give) advise
• encourages the mentee, can be critical but always positive
• has a realistically positive outlook
• can help the mentee in entering formal and informal networks
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 Main topics of mentoring

• Career opportunities
• Selection of academic course work
• Research opportunities
• Professional contacts and networking
• Self-image and self-confidence
• Balancing work and family

Source: AWIS Mentoring Project, 1993

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 Good examples of mentoring
for women in science

• USA
– MENTORNET (www.mentornet.net)
– AWISE Mentoring Scheme (www.awise.org)
– AWIS Mentoring Project (http://www.awis.org/resource
/mentoring.html)
• Europe
– MENTORSET (www.mentorset.org.uk)
– Mentoring Programme for Scholars at the University of
Vienna (ESF project)
– European Women in Mathematics Mentoring Project (http://
ewm.brookes.ac.uk)

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 Mentoring
for homecoming scientists

Mentoring is important because the returning scientist

– lost her or his personal and professional connections in the home
country
– is not familiar with the actual conditions related to work (salary
levels, taxation, social security, etc.)
– has too high or too low expectations (in salary, position, etc.)
– does not know the present system of science administration
(relevant governmental bodies, grant systems, etc.)

The mentor can help in

– giving a first orientation
– introducing the homecoming scientist to existing networks
– explaining the situation in the specific field where the returning
scientist would like to find a job

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 Dr. Dóra Groó
Hungarian Science and Technology Foundation
1027 Budapest, Bem József u. 2.
Phone: 36-1-213-7868, 36-1-214-7714
E-mail: dora.groo@tetalap.hu

Mobility: Anikó Seregélyi, aniko.seregelyi@tetalap.hu

Women & Science: Eszter Papp, eszter.papp@tetalap.hu

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