A mid-term assessment of DILIGENT’s gender representation was conducted in April 2005 by the Coordinator. Provision of statistical information was mandatory for the partners. The EC's interim reporting on the implementation of the gender action plan was used as a template for gathering of the data. The partners were not required to provide additional information about current gender awareness plans in place at their institutes; the commentary included in the assessment below was optional.

The mid-term results showed that DILIGENT was engaging 92 researchers/staff on the project, of which 64% men and 36% women (59 men/ 33 women). At first glance, these numbers appear to be in line with the European Commission’s “40%” objective to mainstream gender equality in scientific research in Framework Programme activities: “40% target for women’s representation in committees, groups and panels”; “40% target for women’s representation in Marie Curie fellowships”.[1]

However, a closer analysis of the roles that the people involved in the project employ shows that only 30% of the project’s “Managers” (i.e., Scientific Manager, Scientific Team Leader or Work Package Leader) are women. Despite this imbalance, it is worth noting that both the roles of Scientific Coordinator and Administrative and Financial Coordinator for the project are occupied by women.

DILIGENT positions: Women

By taking a look at gender representation within the different types of legal entities participating in the project, it becomes clear that the industrial partners (IND), including the small-medium enterprises (SME), are very heavily represented by men. Of 15 researchers having a status of “Early researcher” or higher, only one woman (a “work package leader”) is engaged in the DILIGENT project.

DILIGENT: gender representation by legal entity

One anonymous industrial partner provided the following information: “of 125 R&D personnel (in the company), only 13 are women”. This company’s representative recognized a need to contact the human resources director for information on raising gender awareness and monitoring gender promotion. Therefore, we can assume that no current initiatives to promote gender awareness are in place at this company.

However, a more balanced picture begins to emerge when looking at the numbers of higher level researchers (“experienced researcher with more than four years experience” or higher) participating from the “government” (GOV) and “research” (RES) entities (e.g., the large national research centers CNR in Italy and Fraunhofer in Germany). These two institutes alone contribute 5 of the 11 women in these upper categories. Furthermore, Fraunhofer has an exemplary program for the promotion of gender equality, including: publication by the Board of Directors of an annual report on the promotion of women; an equal opportunity affairs representative present at every institute; special stipends for women PhD candidates; and a “Girls Day” for teenage students from the local area in order to raise interest in technical and IT-related matters and to inform them about job opportunities.

The project’s participating International Organizations (INO) (i.e., CERN and ESA) also have strong programs to generate gender awareness, which will be explored more fully in the future by the DILIGENT project for the dissemination of “best practices”.

Finally, the project’s educational institutions (EDU), or universities, have women represented in every category. It is certainly worth noting that in April 2005, there were 4 women PhD candidates engaged in the project, as opposed to only 2 men. One university partner signaled that they have a slight female majority amongst their choice of PhD candidates for the project, due to high gender awareness which is reflected in their recruiting policy for DILIGENT. Another university partner indicated that their computer science department’s long-term objective is a 1:1 male/female ratio and that they have recently begun conducting yearly assessments.

13 of the women working on the project fall into the “Other” category (as opposed to only 5 men). It is currently assumed that the “Other” represents support and administrative staff, but future DILIGENT gender assessments will request more precision.

CONCLUSION: With 36% of the DILIGENT project participants and the Scientific and Administrative and Financial Coordinators being represented by women, the project is in an overall favorable position with regard to gender representation in the Information Technologies. However, gender awareness among the industrial partners (including SMEs) must become a priority for the project with only one woman out of 15 researchers coming from the private-commercial sector. The national and international research organizations are making large steps toward gender promotion, and their individual gender action plans should be referenced as “best practices”. The university partners have demonstrated an awareness of gender-based issues and have made efforts to promote gender equality among the PhD candidates and early researchers.