Women in European Universities

Basic data for this project

Type of project: EU-project hosted at University of Münster
Duration: 01/03/2000 - 31/08/2003

Description

Gender equality is one of the main challenges facing European societies in the 21st century. The professional success of women, and especially of women in academia, remains one of the main fields of social inequality in all the countries of the EU. The normative concept of gender equity which exists in the European societies is contrasted by a harsh reality in which women in top-level positions are by no means a common occurrence but rather an exception to the largely male rule. At the same time, the reform and future of the European systems of higher education are subject of national debate and high on the European political agenda. Awareness of the internationalisation of European research structures and the need to render European science systems more competitive is increasing. Against this background, the European Research Training Network "Women in European Universities", funded by the European Commission, Directorate General Science, Research and development framework of the fifth Framework programme, is a joint research project of partners in seven European countries. The project management is located at Münster University. Its scientific programme aims at assessing the professional status of women in academia and at analysing the reasons for the under-representation in positions of authority in European Universities. Within the project, a special emphasis is put on the training of doctoral students. The project provides seven young researchers with a wide range of training in academic research design and techniques. The students will gain in-depth knowledge of quantitative and qualitative research methods in the social sciences. In order to qualify them for the international labour market, their scientific training will be linked with measures to gain knowledge of European research structures and to provide the possibility of establishing international research contacts.

Keywords: Gender equality; higher education