The Italian University Habilitation and the Challenge of Increasing the Representation of Women in Academia

Pautasso, Marco

doi:10.3390/challe6010026

Cited by 20 publications

(16 citation statements)

References 87 publications

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“… 6 11 It has been argued that the under-representation of women is the result of decades of bias, unequal opportunities, gender stereotypes and prejudice. 3 8 12 …”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Gender equity programmes in academic medicine: a realist evaluation approach to Athena SWAN processes

et al. 2016

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ObjectivesGender inequity has persisted in academic medicine. Yet equity is vital for countries to achieve their full potential in terms of translational research and patient benefit. This study sought to understand how the gender equity programme, Athena SWAN, can be enabled and constrained by interactions between the programme and the context it is implemented into, and whether these interactions might produce unintended consequences.DesignMultimethod qualitative case studies using a realist evaluation approach.Setting5 departments from a university medical school hosting a Translational Research Organisation.Participants25 hours of observations of gender equality committee meetings, 16 in-depth interviews with Heads of Departments, Committee Leads and key personnel involved in the initiative. 4 focus groups with 15 postdoctoral researchers, lecturers and senior lecturers.ResultsThe implementation of Athena SWAN principles was reported to have created social space to address gender inequity and to have highlighted problematic practices to staff. However, a number of factors reduced the programme's potential to impact gender inequity. Gender inequity was reproduced in the programme's enactment as female staff was undertaking a disproportionate amount of Athena SWAN work, with potential negative impacts on individual women's career progression. Early career researchers experienced problems accessing Athena SWAN initiatives. Furthermore, the impact of the programme was perceived to be undermined by wider institutional practices, national policies and societal norms, which are beyond the programme's remit.ConclusionsGender equity programmes have the potential to address inequity. However, paradoxically, they can also unintentionally reproduce and reinforce gender inequity through their enactment. Potential programme impacts may be undermined by barriers to staff availing of career development and training initiatives, and by wider institutional practices, national policies and societal norms.

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“… 6 11 It has been argued that the under-representation of women is the result of decades of bias, unequal opportunities, gender stereotypes and prejudice. 3 8 12 …”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Gender equity programmes in academic medicine: a realist evaluation approach to Athena SWAN processes

et al. 2016

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“…He also analysed the correlation between outcome and the values of bibliometric indicators. Pautasso (2015) instead explored gender issues in both participation and outcomes. The object of the present work is the analysis of the relation between the outcomes of the national habilitation, the scientific merit of the candidates (measured by the values of the bibliometric indicators), and other explicative variables of possible practices of favoritism and discrimination.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

An assessment of the first “scientific habilitation” for university appointments in Italy

Abramo

D’Angelo

2015

Econ Polit

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Nations with non-competitive higher education systems and with high levels of corruption, are more exposed to phenomena of discrimination and favoritism in faculty recruitment. Italy is a case in point, as shown by empirical studies, judicial reports and media attention. Governments have intervened repeatedly to reduce the problem, with scarce success. The 2010 reforms to the university recruitment system provided that access to the ranks of associate and full professor would now be possible only through an initial ''scientific habilitation'' to be awarded by sectorial committees of national experts. The objective of this work is to analyze the relationship of the recent habilitation procedure outcomes to the actual scientific merit of the various candidates, as well as to other variables that are explicative of possible practices of favoritism and discrimination. The analyses identify the presence of potential cases of discrimination and favoritism.

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“…240/2010 was implemented, while in 2013 the National Scientific Abilitation (ASN) system was introduced, profoundly changing the Italian university system. However, the question remains if such implementations have actually improved the recruitment policies and reduced the gender imbalance (e.g., Pautasso, 2015;Filandri and Pasqua, 2019).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Women in geosciences within the Italian University system in the last 20 years

et al. 2020

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Abstract. This work aims at providing an updated scenario on the underrepresentation of women in the Italian university system in the area of geosciences in the last two decades. The retrieved official data on permanent full and associate professors in the 19-years considered highlight some positive trends: an increase in the number of female full professors from 9.0 % to 18.5 % and in female associate professors from 23.6 % to 28.9 %. However, although the number of female full professors almost doubled in this period, such increase still represents an excessively slow trend. Slightly better is the trend related to associate professors. The picture portrayed for non-permanent researchers, called RTD-b, as introduced by the Italian Law no. 240/2010 (essentially tenure-track associate professor position), instead raises strong concerns for the future seen that the female percentage is just 26 %, thus exhibiting a significant gender imbalance. This is even more significant if we consider that the student population in geosciences shows a gender imbalance of about 37 %, no gender gap at PhD level and a relatively high Glass Ceiling Index (GCI) during the career progression of women. An analysis of the geographical distribution of female researchers in geosciences has evidenced that, although the percentages of women are comparable, the GCI calculated in Southern Italy has been alarmingly high in the last 2–3 years and is divergent from the decrease observed in Northern and Central Italy. The work also analyses the gender balance over different areas of geosciences, showing that in Paleontology and Paleoecology the gap is inverted with more female than male professors, both at full and associate professor level, whereas the gap is almost closed in Mineralogy for associate professors, far though from being balanced for full professors. All remaining geological disciplines suffer a gender imbalance. Further analysis carried out in this work unveils that the number of female full professor is low (<10 %) both at national and regional level in the 2000–2009 decade, consistent with a GCI higher than 2.5–3. From 2010 to 2013, likely in response to the Italian Law no. 240 of 2010, an important progressive increase, associated with a decrease of GCI, is visible. However, from 2014 to 2019 the percentage remains constant (∼20 %) with the exception of Southern Italy, which displays a return to lower values (<15 %). Finally, an international comparison with countries like Germany and the USA definitively indicates that the Italian university system is more equal in terms of gender balance. Even if some significant and positive steps have been carried out in the Italian university system, still much effort is required to fight a general and crucial problem which is the gender balance issue. Results could be achieved promoting work-life balance policies that better reconcile family and work, stimulating a reorganization of the work system still currently set on the male model but, and more importantly, changing the prevailing patriarchal mentality. The Italian university system has already a great example to follow: the zero-pay gap. This is possibly the only system worldwide where male and female professors earn the same identical salary, compared to the salary gap of between 15 % and 30 % of countries richer than Italy, and must be the target to reach, in the near future, for gender balance.

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The Italian University Habilitation and the Challenge of Increasing the Representation of Women in Academia

Cited by 20 publications

References 87 publications

Gender equity programmes in academic medicine: a realist evaluation approach to Athena SWAN processes

Gender equity programmes in academic medicine: a realist evaluation approach to Athena SWAN processes

An assessment of the first “scientific habilitation” for university appointments in Italy

Women in geosciences within the Italian University system in the last 20 years

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