(The book highlights that more needs to be done to address gender inequality in science. Picture: UPO)

“We have to influence the causes of structural, stereotypes and practices in the institutional and personal biases and barriers which generate negative effects on women’s careers are very real,” said Cristina Garmendia, Minister of Science and Innovation.

The book highlights that more needs to be done to address gender inequality in science, especially in the highest levels of the academic hierarchy, while intended as a background document to help work on correcting the imbalance is the low representation of women in science.

The minister said the government has actively worked to correct this imbalance with such important initiatives as the new Law on Science, Technology and Innovation, “which gives an important step in promoting the role women should play, incorporating gender perspective. ” He also wanted to stress that this law incorporates obligations aimed at ensuring that the Spanish system of science, technology and innovation moving towards a situation of gender equality effectively.

“We can say without hesitation that we have today in our country a model of a legal framework. This was recently recognized professor at Stanford University, Londa Schiebinger, a world expert in this area when he said that if the Spanish law is properly applied in the future, Spain will head to the country a model of good international practice, “said Garmendia.

The head of science has emphasized the need for further work in this line with action at the highest political level of decision. “In this sense, the book reveals that although 60% of people in the Spanish university graduates are women, and graduate with better records than men, only 23% of the research faculty of the Higher Council for Scientific Research (CSIC) and 15% of university professorships are occupied by women, “he added.

The White Paper also notes that in the last 20 years the percentage of women professors has only increased by 6%. Garmendia said that without active measures such as the Government has taken with the Law on Science, Technology and Innovation, the presence of women in the scientific advances not only in proportion to the number of qualified women to access jobs highest in the race, but in some cases and at times can even go back.

Measures the change in scientific intituciones

In today’s event was also presented the report “Structural Change in scientific institutions: excellence, equity and efficiency in research and innovation ‘, published by the European Commission.

The data provided in this report broadly coincide with those of the “White Paper on the status of women in Spanish science.” According to this document, although 45% of European graduates are women, only 30% of research careers are women (37% for Spanish). The statistics get worse in leadership positions, only 8% of full professors and 13% of university presidents are women.

The paper proposes structural changes in scientific institutions, so that decisions are more transparent, unconscious biases are removed gender in institutional practices to modernize the human resource management considering the implications of gender, to promote excellence through diversity, and enhance research and innovation through the integration of gender analysis.