Gender Mainstreaming

Structural disadvantages and the waste of female talent have been diagnosed for all states in the European Community by several studies of the European Commission. Women are still faced with a so called glass ceiling which hinders them to get into high positions. This phenomenon is often also described as a "leaky pipeline" as with every step in the scientific career the proportion of women decreases dramatically. Even though women nowadays constitute half of the students or sometimes even more, they do not have a strong voice in decision making processes and curriculum development. This applies for countries with significantly different historical backgrounds or in cases with comparably high numbers of highly qualified women. Additionally, while the proportion of researchers of the total labour force has been increasing, the gender gap regarding work conditions and salaries is widening. Female scientists often work in much more precarious working conditions than men. The proportion of temporary employments in scientific organisations has a clear effect on the proportion of women working in these organisations: the more temporary jobs in the institutions, the higher the proportion of women.