European Perspective on Women in Academia
Dear friends of women in science,
Inside Higher Education recently carried notice of an interesting update on women in academia in Europe. I have been interested in the discrepancies between countries in Europe, suggesting a big role of cultural support in the success of women academics. Finland does not have a scissors curve for success of women, first rising compared to men, then falling as ranks get higher and higher. Women succeed about as well as men at every rank. But Germany decided to do something about its pronounced scissors curve and set up a whole system they hoped would increase the success of women academics.
The article (read it by clicking here) by Gaele Goastellic suggests that much more work needs to be done in various countries in Europe to make academic success equitable by sex. She summarizes the trends by saying, "the more prestigious the field and the position, fewer women. Furthermore, the more "teaching oriented" a position is, the less likely that it will be occupied by a man." In 8 of the 12 European countries she and the team she works with studied, they found gender was a significant predictor of academic success.
She said people tell her women like to teach more. But in their surveys, they asked what people preferred, and both men and women preferred research. No doubt some women, and some men, prefer teaching, but they didn't find evidence of the kind of preference that would explain women's predominance in teaching-rich positions. She also noted that women can feel pushed to act like a man to succeed, including giving up the option of having children. These issues resonate with us in the US too, of course.
A very interesting point she made is that the more egalitarian the whole society, the more likely that the women in academia reach high success. I would have expected that, but I wonder if Ceci and Williams would have? Is that what you would have predicted?
cheers,
Laura
I think Germany is trying to make things better, but so far it is still very stressful for women in postdocs and lower levels of academic positions. I don't think the efforts have paid off yet. Lots of us are here in the US and don't plan to return after trying out the system and having problmes. And, like here, men's attitudes are the biggest barrier. Emmy Noether did it but for us, we struggle.
Do you think that the NSF and the White House Office specializing in women and girls' welfare look at what Finland, etc are doing right? Do we need to do more to make the availability of these role models known?
RKR
Hi Minette,
I wonder if people who think women are very liberated in the US wonder about the national academy of sciences here in the same way? But science itself is more gender-biased here than society as a whole, and that may not be true in Sweden.
cheers,
Laura
Dear Laura--
It is so different in the various European countries to talk of Europe as a whole is very misleading. I went to Sweden for my postdoc and I thought there was NO problem about women vs men. I doubt it has changed much since I was there. And as you suggested, the society itself seemed to be very egalitarian.
The one puzzle is why the Nobel laureates are so rarely female. The Swedish Academy should do a better job if it would reflect the Swedish society, in my opinion.
Minette
Hi Mari and Rosalie,
Yes, I have heard about some very oppressive structures but I do think there are women trying to make things better for other women in science. Change can be frustratingly slow, but in some countries, the system is already working well, so they can be pointed to as places that are doing things right when men raise objections or try to say women can't do science.
cheers,
Laura
I don't know how much people know about European postdocs and early academics, but it can be very stressful over there. That's probably why a lot of us come to the US and stay here after our postdocs. I love to go home and see my family, but I don't like the very hierarchical, male-dominated academic structures in Europe.
Hi Laura,
I think most of the Scandinavian countries, where there is a strong tradition of women's equality, great legal support, and great child care (cheap, available) make women's success in academia much more likely. I read somewhere that in Southern Europe, the availability of family (grandmothers) to babysit allows success of women greater than you'd think based on the less gender-equal society. But it sounds like her data vary from this idea.
Rosalie
